New Beginnings
by GriffinStar
Summary: Married life for Martin & Louisa. Follows on from 'Martin & Louisa - The Story Continues'
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Fits in with the story line in 'Martin a****nd Louisa - The Story Continues' shortly after the Charity Ball.**

**PROLOGUE**

Edith Montgomery sat in her ultra modern, clutter free, surgically clean kitchen in her London Docklands flat. The cooker was as clean as the day she bought it because she never actually used it – she always ate out. A cleaner came in twice a week to ensure that her flat remained clean, although the cleaner never actually found much to do.

She picked up her paper to read as she sipped her espresso coffee – she did at least use her coffee maker on a regular basis. She only ever read 'The Times', and then only the sections that interested her. This morning however, as she discarded all the supplements, her eye was caught by something she saw on the front of the Educational Supplement.

'Cornish Super Woman Head Teacher - does she have the solutions to falling educational standards? – an in depth article by Jenny Parsons' read the headline. But what had caught her eye was a large photo of Louisa Glasson, on the front cover.

"Well, well, well, little Miss Spiky," Edith murmured out loud. She opened the supplement to read further.

'The parents of children in the Cornish village of Portwenn count themselves as amongst the luckiest in the country. Since Louisa Glasson has taken over as Head Teacher, they have seen standards rise in all key subjects, and after an 'outstanding' rating by OFSTED, their school now ranks amongst the highest Primary schools in Cornwall. There is a waiting list for places at the school, and a catchment area has had to be set up. Head Teachers from other schools are being sent there to learn what makes it so successful, enabling them to improve their schools.

However, Ms Glasson is not content with sitting on her laurels. Although she is currently on maternity leave, she has been working relentlessly to set up a nursery unit attached to her school to benefit the local working parents, with the additional benefit of creating much needed employment and training opportunities in a rural community. She is hoping to have the nursery up and running for the new term in January, when she returns to work, as she plans to leave her baby son, Luke, in the nursery.'

"Ah yes she had a boy didn't she," thought Edith, who had not taken the slightest interest in any of her patients' progress in Cornwall since she had left. "I recall Ellingham mentioning it when he was making his pathetic excuses for dropping out of the London job."

The article carried on – 'We asked Louisa Glasson to summarise what she feels are the key points to raising educational standards.

"I believe it is very important to know each of the pupils as an individual, and if a problem area in their learning becomes apparent, it must be tackled straight away, and not left to affect their confidence. We run extra Maths and English sessions tailored to individual needs, as these are the essential building blocks, especially at Primary School."

The article carried on with further details of all the extra measures that Louisa had set up.

It then covered what Louisa had been doing to set up the nursery.

'First of all, I have to say that I have had wonderful support from my partner, Martin Ellingham, who is the local GP, I couldn't have got this far without his help. It is a long struggle though, because there are so many formalities to go through. I have been trying to enlist the support of our local MP, MEP, councillors and so forth. Some have been of much more help than others, but some of them have never even replied to my letters, emails or phone calls, which I believe is a disgrace when it is their responsibility to serve our community.' The article then continued with more details of the problems that Louisa had encountered.

Edith thought to herself "So the poor deluded fool did stay with her in that claustrophobic little village – the man's completely insane, riddled with phobias. It really is a shame when he has such a brilliant mind. It seems I underestimated Miss Spikey – but she's welcome to him, with his fear of intimacy, she won't be getting herself pregnant again!"

**xXx**

Someone else who saw the article was Dominic, the intern from Martin's legal firm who had been working closely with Louisa on the nursery project. When Richard Blackwood, Martin's lawyer, had told Dominic about the project he had said,

"Don't suppose you'll be dealing with Martin Ellingham much as it is Louisa Glasson's project. But if you do talk to him, don't be put off by the fact that he is rude and brusque – it's just his way with everybody. First class doctor though, no question about that. Goodness only knows what this Louisa sees in him; maybe he's found a nice country lass to look after him."

Having listened to Louisa's Cornish accent on the phone many times, and with what Richard had said about a 'nice country lass', Dominic had a picture of Louisa in his mind as a very pleasant but plain, rather plump lady. Louisa had told him about Jenny's article in The Times, so naturally he had bought it. When he saw her picture on the front page, he was amazed to see such a beautiful woman. He showed it to his boss Richard, who was equally surprised.

"Well I never, maybe now I can understand why Martin decided to stay in Cornwall," he mused "And she's got brains too. Last time I spoke to him, he was hoping to persuade her to marry him – and now I can't really say that I blame him."

**xXx**

As a direct result of the article in The Times – a very respected and influential newspaper after all – Louisa suddenly found that their MP, who had been 'too busy', suddenly found time to help her, as did various other officials who were now being approached for TV interviews about the article. Education standards were hot news at the moment, so someone who appeared to have the solution to raising standards was very news worthy. The outcome of all the media coverage was that finally, strings were pulled, everything fell into place, staff were interviewed, equipment bought, and the nursery was ready to open for the January term, meaning that Louisa could return from maternity leave to her job as Head Teacher.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Back To The Real World**

Louisa walked into her office at Portwenn Primary School at the start of the term in January, and looked round. It felt familiar and yet strange at the same time. It didn't look as if the Acting Head - Neil Godwin - had changed too many things – she had seen him here on several occasions when she'd popped in to help with various queries, and she'd had to resist the temptation to interfere too much – she knew that she had to let him get on with it. It would have been very easy for her to have called in to the school nearly every day, she could have brought Luke with her after all. But she was on maternity leave and she had her nursery project to work on, so she had resisted the temptation. She was now reaping the benefits of that project, as she had just left Luke in the nursery this morning for the first time. It had been such a wrench leaving him, especially as he had cried. She really wasn't sure how he was going to take to this change to his routine, but he was just going to have to get used to it. He was very near by after all, with fantastic staff that she had personally helped to recruit and a very well equipped nursery unit. It was the best arrangement that she could possibly have hoped for. And she really was looking forward to getting back to her job, which she loved.

She was disturbed from her reverie by Sally Chadwick, the school secretary, coming in to her office, holding various folders and papers.

"Welcome back, Miss Glasson," Sally said.

"Ah right yes, err… please could you advise all the staff that with immediate effect the pupils should call me 'Mrs Ellingham'," Louisa said with a little smile on her face. "I'm sorry if this means changing any of the paperwork that you've already prepared. I thought that we could include this update in the next newsletter that goes out?"

"You mean…that you and Doctor Ellingham have got married? I'm sorry, nobody told me or I would have got everything prepared and changed already," Sally said, taken completely by surprise.

"Yes, we are married, we got married just before Christmas actually, and by some miracle we've managed to keep it to ourselves for a little while. So, it's not just you Sally, nobody in the village knows yet – well apart from Joan of course. We didn't want any fuss, not after last time…" Louisa explained.

"Ah well yes, I suppose after that fiasco…So, congratulations Mrs Ellingham!" Sally beamed at her, noticing now that Louisa was wearing a wedding ring. She hurried out of the office to go and tell as many people as she could find about this latest piece of valuable news.

Louisa gave a little sigh. The cat was out of the bag now – she knew that the news would be all round the village in a matter of minutes. Everything had been so lovely and private up to now, she and Martin had known that they could trust Joan and Chris and Jenny Parsons to keep quiet about their Wedding, as they had asked them.

Louisa smiled to herself as she thought about their lovely first Christmas together, with Luke … but then the very raw memory of leaving him crying this morning jolted her out of her daydreaming. She'd been pretty close to tears herself as she'd walked away. The staff had assured her that most babies were like this to start with, but that they soon settled and it was best just to leave him with them without prolonging the goodbye.

"This is no good, Luke will be just fine. I must concentrate on getting back into the swing of things again. Right, let's see what kind of a job Neil actually did while I was away," she told herself sternly.

xXx

Pauline screamed out in amazement at the news being conveyed to her on the telephone in the surgery reception that same morning, before any patients had arrived.

"You're kidding me – you sure this isn't some kind of joke, Al Large, the Doc hasn't said a word to me about getting married, and you're saying it happened before Christmas? Even if it's true, he'd at least told me when we came back to work after the break, he'd want me to know," Pauline insisted. In her mind, she believed that Martin relied on her completely to support him both in and out of the surgery so she was sure that he would've taken her into his confidence on such an important matter.

"I'm telling you Pauline, this is straight from the school, everyone's talking about it. On her first day back as Head Teacher, Louisa coolly announces that she is now Mrs Ellingham – first anyone knew about it, apparently they sneaked off and got married before Christmas then just kept it quiet. Dad's pretty miffed, but he still thinks he might be able to persuade them to have a belated reception do at the restaurant," Al told Pauline.

"Right, well I'll talk to you later, I'm gonna get to the bottom of this. Makes me look a right pillock if I didn't know the Doc was married." Pauline put down the phone and hurried in to the surgery to confront Martin.

As she marched in, she glanced at Martin's left hand and cursed herself for not noticing sooner that Martin was wearing a ring on his left hand, instead of his right – why hadn't she noticed before? Then she saw, on his desk, a double photo frame. Actually Martin had only brought this into work today, on Louisa's insistence. On one side of it was a photo of Luke, looking very cute with a big smile on his face. On the other side was a photo of Martin and Louisa – she was wearing a simple but beautiful cream silk knee length dress with a red rose corsage, and Martin was wearing his grey pin stripe suit (Louisa's favourite), also with a red rose corsage.

"I want you to have these pictures with you so that you don't completely forget about us while you're at work," Louisa had told him. She was taking an identical frame to put in her office too.

"Don't be ridiculous, Louisa, I think I am just about capable of remembering you both for the few hours that I am at work," Martin had replied gruffly, but really rather liking the idea of having the photos with him. He had decided that he would have them on his desk, where he could easily see them, not hidden away from view, even if it did mean that his incredibly nosy patients might see them as well. He could deal with them.

Pauline did a double take at the photo because she could swear that the Doc seemed to be smiling in it – 'I'm surprised the camera lens didn't crack if he was actually smiling,' she thought to herself.

"It's true then – you and Miss Glasson have sneaked off and got married?" Pauline quizzed him.

"It really is none of your business Pauline, but for future reference, yes, Miss Glasson and I are now married," Martin briefly answered, not looking up as he carried on reading his patient notes in preparation for surgery. He had no intention of discussing any further details, but Pauline wasn't giving up that easily.

"So why didn't you tell anyone, especially me – I could've been bridesmaid again, I've still got the dress from last time, it hardly got worn after all… Al could've been Best Man, Bert would've done you another lovely reception – why would you want to miss out on all that?" Pauline asked Martin, genuinely puzzled.

Martin looked up at her in sheer horror and disbelief, not quite believing what he was hearing.

Seeing his expression, Pauline exclaimed,

"Ah, I get it, it was because you thought she might jilt you again, wasn't it? What did you do, take her to the Wedding yourself to make sure she turned up this time? And then you wanted to be sure she wasn't gonna run off again, so you waited a while before letting on, to be sure, like? Suppose I can't really blame you, sooo embarrassing for you last time, you poor thing," she said sympathetically.

Most people in the village didn't really believe that it had been a mutual decision to call off their previous wedding, they thought that it was Louisa who had come to her senses about marrying the old misery guts. Well except maybe Mrs Tishell and Mrs Wilson, who thought that it was Martin who had had a lucky escape when he'd finally realised that Louisa wasn't good enough for him. However, now that they had a baby together, things were different, was the general consensus.

"For God's sake Pauline, get back to your desk and MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS," Martin barked at her. "And make sure that you warn all of my patients that they had better have a genuine medical reason for attending my surgery. I will not be discussing my private life, and I will eject any moronic, intrusive time wasters who attempt to elicit any kind of personal information from me."

"Aww, I think it's really sweet that you actually managed to get her to marry you this time. I guess she must've decided she could live with the whole 'Bi' thing after all."

Pauline sighed happily as she went back to her desk. She'd never believed that he been 'researching' for a patient when she'd caught him looking at the bi- sexual and gay web sites that time. Well, whatever rocked his boat...

The Chemist shop remained closed all day. Mrs Tishell was seen only briefly, dressed completely in black as if in mourning.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Chapter 3**

**Tears before bedtime**

Luke didn't settle at nursery at all. He hated changes to his routine. For the first six months of his life, all he had known was being at home, with Louisa, or Martin, or Joan. For the most part he was perfectly happy and content with any of these people, the three most important people in his little world. Now all of a sudden, he was being abandoned, left with strange people, in a strange place. And there were other babies and children there too, and some of them were crying as well, which unsettled him even more. He didn't understand that his Mummy was only a short distance away, or that she would be coming back for him later on in the day. It didn't help that he had to be put for his sleep in a cot that he wasn't used to, because he'd outgrown his pram, and especially now that he could roll over, he had to be put in a proper cot. The Nursery Supervisor was determined to follow Health and Safety regulations to the letter – for all the children in her care, but especially with Doctor Ellingham's son – heaven help them if anything happened to him while he was in their care.

Louisa looked in at lunch time to check on Luke, and just as the staff were telling her that it had taken them all morning to settle him and it was probably best if he didn't see her just yet, Luke spotted her and started crying all over again. When she left again, he was inconsolable, finally sobbing himself to sleep for a while in the arms of a very experienced nursery nurse called Cheryl, who was looking after him that day.

Louisa had rung Martin for reassurance that she was doing the right thing in leaving Luke in the nursery, but unfortunately he'd been called out to a medical emergency, and by the time he had got back and returned her call, she was in a meeting – so he had no idea what had been happening.

That evening at home, Luke still clung to Louisa, even after she'd sorted him out and fed him. He'd started really crying again when she tried to put him down to start preparing their evening meal – normally he would happily sit and play for a while with some toys, but not today. She felt so guilty about leaving him that she felt she ought to cuddle and reassure him, so she carried him round as she tried to do everything. She had also brought home a lot of paperwork, she'd discovered that Neil Godwin had been 'cherry picking' what work he had chosen to do, leaving a lot of the harder, more complicated tasks for her return.

Finally Martin arrived home, later than usual, because his medical emergency had meant that everything had run behind at his surgery.

"Sorry I missed your call, I had to attend a patient with a myocardial infarction, complete waste of my time, already dead when I got there, but of course it meant that I had to complete all the wretched paperwork as the attending doctor. On the plus side, it got me away from all the imbecilic, prying, gossip mongers that seemed determined to invade my surgery in the hope of gleaning some morsel of information concerning our marital status," Martin grumbled as he came in. "So, how did everything go with you and Luke today?"

Looking round, he saw that Louisa was trying to prepare a meal while holding Luke, who was clinging very tightly to her, every now and then a shuddering little sob escaping from him. There was a large pile of papers and folders on the kitchen table, and Louisa looked flustered and upset.

"Things didn't go very well at all actually, Martin. Luke hated being left in the nursery, he cried so much that he made himself physically sick, so I had to collect him a little early in the end, straight after my meeting, meaning I got less work done," Louisa told him in a rather wobbly voice. "I couldn't cancel my meeting, but even if I had, it wouldn't really help in the long run, because if I take him out, or ask Joan to come and get him, I've still got to go through it all again next time. I made it worse when I looked in on him at lunch time, because it set him off twice as bad again. The staff were brilliant with him, it was their first day too, not much fun for them to have such an unhappy little boy to start with, but they were really kind and patient, they tried so hard to placate him, but you know what he's like once he gets upset and how he hates any changes to his routine."

"Well, I… I'm sure he'll get used to it … eventually," Martin said, not really sure what he could say to help. He felt a strong pang of empathy for his son, he had deep childhood memories of feeling abandoned and unloved. But he knew that this was completely different, Luke wasn't being abandoned and was very much loved – that was the problem in a way, he wasn't used to being left and he didn't understand.

"It probably would have been better if I had put him in a nursery right from the beginning, then he wouldn't have known any different would he? I've done it all wrong. Apparently around six months is when a baby can develop separation anxiety and a fear of strangers, so of course that's when I decide to leave him in the nursery for the first time, and because it's only just opened, I couldn't get him used to it gradually, poor little soul had to be thrown right in from day one, great mother I've turned out to be," Louisa was rambling on, as much to herself as to Martin, holding Luke on one hip while trying to put a pan of water on to cook some pasta.

"For goodness sake, the boy will get used to it, you're making too much of it, it's only the first day after all," Martin said in frustration, struggling to handle the situation.

"What do you mean '_the boy'_, Martin, we're talking about Luke, our son, not some patient whose name you can't remember," Louisa snapped at him. "How can you be so cold hearted, you don't feel upset for him at all, do you?"

"Don't presume to tell me how I feel, Louisa," Martin snapped back at her, and when Louisa looked up at his face, and saw the expression in his eyes, she realised that he was just as affected as she was, he simply wasn't vocalising it.

They looked at each other for a few seconds, before Louisa said,

"Look, I'm sorry. It's been a difficult day, on top of Luke being so unsettled, Neil's managed to leave me all sorts of crap that needs to be sorted out pretty urgently, and so many bloody people interrupted me wanting to know all the details about us getting married that I didn't get very much done. But I shouldn't take it out on you, I know, so I'm sorry."

"Mmm OK, well, the first day back was bound to be a bit stressful. Look, let me prepare the supper," Martin offered, feeling more comfortable doing something practical. He wasn't sorry that Neil Godwin had gone, he'd known instantly that he was a tosser when he'd met him, and now it turned out that he wasn't even the great teacher he was supposed to have been.

Luke was finally beginning to recover a bit from his 'difficult' day. Now that he was at home with Louisa and Martin, he managed a smile at Martin and reached out to him, babbling a bit more happily.

"Well it seems that Luke would like you to take him instead," said Louisa, gratefully handing him over.

Luke snuggled against his Daddy's chest, and Martin found himself instinctively putting his hand on the little boy's head protectively, maybe because he did understand just exactly how Luke felt, even if he couldn't admit it to anyone.

There could be absolutely no doubt that Luke was Martin's son. There were people in the village who had initially voiced doubts when Louisa had returned to the village about exactly who was the father of her baby - there had been rumours and whispers about her meeting up with Danny Steele in London (many of which seemed to emanate from a certain Chemist shop) spread about by the groups of bitchy, teenage girls that wandered around the streets of Portwenn. However, they were all silenced when they looked at Luke now. He was a 'mini me' of Martin. He was a big child, with white blonde hair that was growing in a natural spiky crew cut, in a very similar style to Martin's hair. He had cute ears, not exactly big, but they did stick out a little more than average. His big blue eyes were the same shade as Martin's. He would study anything he wasn't sure about with a very serious, studious little face that mimicked Martin's natural expression. It was only when he broke into a smile, which was Louisa's beautiful wide smile that her contribution to the mix showed.

Luke always felt safe when his big strong Daddy held him, and after he gave a final little shaky sigh, he crashed out and fell asleep in Martin's arms.

xXx

Much to Louisa's despair, Luke continued to cry every morning when he was left at nursery – it became apparent that he'd inherited a very stubborn streak from somewhere, which Louisa and Martin blamed each other for. Then, just as Luke was getting used to his new routine, he started teething, and began waking up crying several times in the night, which he didn't usually, and it made him grumpy and miserable during the day. Martin checked him over thoroughly to make sure there was nothing more seriously wrong, and gave him Calpol to ease his teething pains. Then Luke caught his first cold, meaning that he found it hard to feed because he was all blocked up. As Luke was at the age where he put everything in his mouth, Martin gave Louisa a long lecture about ensuring adequate hygiene standards at the nursery to minimise the spread of germs - he'd already undertaken his own very thorough inspection of the nursery before Luke had started there, not really being able to find fault at all, but still lecturing the staff to the point where some were actually quite scared of him.

"I feel sorry for Mrs Ellingham, fancy being married to that tyrant, and she's such a sweetie too, what on earth does she see in him? He scared me to death when I worked for him that time when Pauline went on her course," Poppy told the other staff – she was one of the lucky ones who had managed to secure a place as a trainee nursery nurse – competition for places had been very fierce. Proper jobs, with a professional qualification at the end of the training, were very hard to come by in Portwenn.

Martin may have started to reveal another side of himself to Louisa on occasions, but as far as everyone else was concerned, he hadn't changed at all, he was just the same pompous, grumpy, miserable old sod that he'd always been, although it was maybe just possible that he was ever so slightly more sympathetic when a parent consulted him about a baby that wouldn't stop crying, offering more constructive advice than the '_You're a mother now, your life has changed, so get used to it_' advice that he'd given Louisa's young neighbour when she'd called him out to her crying baby. And maybe when he was consulted on matters of a sexual nature he was able to offer slightly more relevant and helpful advice than his previous _'generally in sexual activity one is keener than the other'_ type of answer.

Unfortunately, Louisa caught the same cold as Luke too, which really pulled her down. She was working every evening at home, once she had finally managed to get Luke settled, trying to catch up with all her paperwork. Martin tried to make her slow down and not over do things, but she kept saying,

"It's just for a few days, until I get it sorted out." But it had been several weeks now. He tried to help as much as he could, but he had to do extra 'on call' duties because another doctor had dropped out, and being winter time, there were a lot of extra calls due to the usual seasonal illnesses.

Martin was worried that Louisa wasn't eating properly, she told him that she had had breakfast, but he hadn't actually seen her eating any for a while, she was usually in a rush to get herself and Luke ready to leave in the morning. She often pushed her supper away half eaten saying that she wasn't that hungry, but really it was because she wanted to get on with other things, or because Luke was crying. Martin thought she had lost quite a lot of weight, although Louisa denied it and told him not to fuss.

The final straw for Martin came when he returned home from being called out one evening to find Louisa slumped asleep at the kitchen table with a pile of paperwork in front of her, trying to do some work once she had finally managed to get Luke to sleep – this was the second time he'd found her like this.

"Louisa, this is ridiculous. You're exhausted, you're no good to anyone, at home or at work like this," he lectured her. "You know you can't go on in this way, you're trying to do far more than you're capable of."

"Go on then, you must be itching to say it – '_I told you so_' said Louisa, mimicking his deep voice and looking at him resentfully.

"What do you mean?" asked Martin, puzzled.

"Well, it turns out you were right when you said '_there are very few woman who are physically or mentally capable of looking after a small child and working full time, and that I wasn't one of them_' I heard you say it, don't forget. You must be thrilled to have been proved right, you obviously think I can't cope," said Louisa as she burst into tears and ran upstairs.

Martin cursed as he remembered the conversation. Really what he'd meant by 'not mentally capable' was that he knew that she would be a very loving, caring, involved mother, and that she would find it very hard to leave her baby in some one else's care. Physically, there was her history of anaemia, and with all the demands now being made of her, he was concerned that she would have a re- occurrence. He'd been worried about Louisa taking on too much then, just as he was now, but he didn't want her to think that he didn't support her decision to go back to work – he understood Louisa well enough by now to realise that she needed the challenge of working and wouldn't be happy as a 'stay at home' mother. In the past, his attitude had been rather condescending towards her job, calling her a 'nursery teacher' in a rather derogatory manner when she'd called him in to examine young Peter Cronk after he had a fall. Another time he'd talked about the next lesson being 'face painting' when she'd told him that she had to get the pupils that were in her care back to school after she'd fainted. Neither had he contradicted her when she'd said she wasn't a 'proper professional' like him when she'd first got her Head Teachers role.

Now, however, he appreciated that her job was very demanding, and also crucial to the welfare of the local community. Since the article about her had been in 'The Times', she had had contact with several Government officials, some of whom wanted to come and visit her school in the new term, to use her knowledge and experience to help shape educational policy. With these contacts, if she had chosen to, she could have risen up through the ranks pretty quickly to become a leading figure in education. However, she had no desire to leave behind her school, because what she really found most rewarding was the contact with the children. She was already finding it very frustrating that she had to spend so much time on paperwork and administrative tasks, rather than teaching, which is what she really loved.

He went after her, finding her sitting on her bed crying.

"Just go away Martin, if you've come to crow over me and tell me how useless I am. I know that already. I'm a rubbish mother, and a rubbish Head too." Louisa said through her sobs.

"Don't be ridiculous…" Martin started to say, still not very skilled at dealing with an upset, crying woman. Of course this wasn't the right thing to say.

"Might as well resign my job now, be one of those mothers who slobs about all day in their pyjamas, and never washes their hair. That's about all I'm good for, I'm not coping with anything properly, I'm letting everyone down." Louisa said in despair.

Martin was flummoxed because, as usual, he didn't know how he should handle this, but he did know that it was important. He was deeply affected by seeing Louisa crying and so distressed.

He took a deep breath and said as calmly as he could,

"Look Louisa, anyone would be struggling to cope with everything you've been going through recently, whoever they were. I'm not criticising, really I'm not. Believe it or not, I'm actually quite proud of what you've achieved at work, but maybe you need to learn to delegate a bit more. Wouldn't it be good experience for your deputy and some of the other more ambitious staff to take on some of the admin and paperwork or other tasks? Don't feel that you have to do everything yourself. Luke will get used to his new routine eventually, and he won't be teething or have a cold forever, but in the meantime let Joan have him more often and spoil him a bit by cuddling him too much – as long as he only expects it from her, that's OK isn't it? I'll make sure they get another doctor for the 'on call' rota as soon as possible, so that I can support you more as well." He looked at her to see if his words were having any impact.

Louisa was sitting looking at him, no longer crying, just wracked by the occasional sob.

"So when did you get to be all sensitive and caring then," she joked weakly "Where's Martin Ellingham and what have you done to him?"

"Do you really still think of me as an uncaring bastard, Louisa?" he asked her, as he handed her some tissues. He was really quite hurt if she did still think that, after all these months together.

"No, I know better now. I'm sorry, forgive me for blowing up like that?" Louisa asked him, leaning over and hugging him, burying her face in his neck.

"So you'll think about what I said, about delegating more?" Martin pushed her for an answer.

"Yes, I promise," came a muffled answer as she stayed buried in his neck. "But just hold me for now, this feels so nice." Martin completely agreed with her on this point, so they just sat holding each other for quite some time.

"I love you very much Martin," she whispered in his ear.

"I…I love you too," he whispered back, very, very quietly.

xXx

Luke did eventually settle at nursery, after a few weeks. He accepted his new routine once he realised that his Mummy did always came back for him. He found that being with the other people and babies could actually be quite fun and interesting – he took after Louisa in that he had a friendly and sociable nature once he felt happy and secure. His cold cleared up and his teeth came through, so he felt a lot happier in himself. Louisa accepted that she didn't have to prove to anyone that she was some kind of SuperWoman, so she relaxed and started to delegate some tasks, which the other staff appreciated because they knew that the experience that it gave them it would help to advance their careers. Joan was thrilled to have Luke a bit more often, and Luke enjoyed all his cuddles with her. Extra doctors joined the 'on call' rota system, taking the pressure off Martin to some degree, enabling him to be at home a bit more.

Martin and Louisa grew closer as a result of his showing his 'sensitive and caring' side to her - if to no one else. This would give him more confidence in handling things next time – because there was always going to be a 'next time', he was beginning to realise.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Chapter 4 - Looney Tunes and Cup Cakes**

PC Joseph Penhale couldn't believe his luck. It had all started innocently enough. It was a regular occurrence that he visited the pupils of Portwenn School to give them various talks about Road Safety (dobbing your Dad in if he didn't renew his road tax), Just Say 'No' To Drugs (dobbing your older brother/sister in if they smoked a joint) Neighbourhood Watch (dobbing your neighbours in about anything at all) – all kinds of fun topics. The truth of the matter was that the crime rate was so low in Portwenn that he had to find things to do, so that he could justify his position. At the request of the School Governors, he had also willingly taken on an active role in helping with the football club at the school, now that Neil Godwin had left. As the majority of the teaching staff were female at the moment, it was felt that a positive male role model was a good idea, especially for the single parent families in the village. Joe Penhale was the best, well the only person that they could come up with.

A new teacher had started at the school at the beginning of the January term. Emma Greenway was an enthusiastic, highly qualified teacher who had jumped at the chance of a position at Portwenn School – it was _the_ place to be at the moment, it would look fantastic on her CV and anyway she was a Cornish girl and it would be great to come back to Cornwall and be near her family again. Louisa was very impressed with her, she was extremely well organised, the children loved her, and she kept her class in line with effortless discipline.

When Joseph Penhale came into Emma's class to give his talk about Road Safety to her pupils, Emma was rather taken with him. There are some women who fantasise about Fire Fighters, and there are some women who fantasise about Policemen, and Emma was one of the latter.

"Mmm, police uniform, my favourite," she thought to herself. She ignored the fact that the pupils were not at all impressed by his talk, mainly because he was really talking utter rubbish.

His fate was sealed when Emma happened to see him taking his top off when he was getting changed later on, after he'd helped coach the school football club.

"My word, that's a _very_ nice body indeed that he's hiding under that uniform," she commented to Louisa, who happened to be there to. "Is he married or anything?" she casually asked. He looked to be a few years older than her, which was how she liked it – no toy boy rubbish for her.

"What Joe? no, he's divorced, and no girlfriend as far as I'm aware," Louisa told Emma. She didn't say that his reputation in the village as being 'a bit of a fruitcake' put most girls off.

Emma was used to getting exactly what she wanted – she was a very determined and focused character. She'd worked very hard to get her excellent qualifications and loved her teaching job. However, she'd just had her 30th birthday, and this was an important milestone to her because she'd always planned to settle down when she reached 30. That had been her one reservation about taking the job at Portwenn School, she thought that she was unlikely to find many eligible men in such a small village. She'd been about to join an internet dating service, but maybe now she wouldn't need to…..

Emma waited until she saw that Joe was just leaving the school, to walk out along side him.

"Thanks very much for helping out with the football club. It's so important for the kids, especially the boys, to have a positive role model to look up to, especially if they come from a single parent family as some of our kids do," Emma told him as they walked along together.

"I'm glad you see it like that. It's a duty I take very seriously. As a policeman you're on duty 24/7, always on the job," Joe told Emma.

He looked at her appreciatively. He couldn't help noticing earlier on that she was just the type of woman he liked – curvy, with big breasts – a proper woman in his book. He was definitely a breast man, and now he just couldn't help looking at them when he was talking to her – her top was quite clingy, and although not low cut – it wouldn't be appropriate for a teacher – there was just enough of a hint of her cleavage to set his pulses racing. Emma saw him looking – she was very used to men looking at her chest rather than her face – but she wasn't offended, on the contrary, she was rather pleased that he was showing some interest.

By now they had reached Emma's house – the one that she was renting for now.

"I don't suppose you've got time for a coffee? I wondered if maybe you could fill me in about the other talks that you give to the children. But of course, if you're too busy, being such an important figure in the village…" Emma suggested innocently.

"No, no that would be good, err…. all in the line of duty of course," Joe said, trying not to sound too keen but failing miserably, as he followed her into her house.

"I'll just go get changed out of these work clothes, won't be a moment," Emma said. "Make yourself at home."

When she returned, she was wearing very tight jeans that showed off her ample curvy derriere, and a low cut top which showed off a bit more of her cleavage – but not too low so as to make her look cheap. They talked for a while – Emma soon worked out that Joe was really pretty simple, not the sharpest pencil in the box, but that was OK with her. She liked being in control and he would be putty in her hands, of that she was certain, especially by the way he couldn't take his eyes off her chest.

Finally, when he said that he really ought to be going, she saw him to the door and said,

"It's been a real pleasure talking to you Joe, it's a pity that there aren't more men about like you, who are such active, responsible members of the community."

She leant over to give him a peck on the cheek, making sure that her breasts brushed against him. She heard him gulp, and knew then that he was hooked.

"I err... I wonder if you'd like to err… maybe like to discuss crime prevention over dinner ... after all, a girl on her own like you needs to be aware of how to protect herself," Joe suggested quickly, before his nerve left him.

"I'd love to – is tomorrow night any good – or is that too soon? It's just that if it's urgent that I learn to protect myself, and I must admit that I do sometimes feel a bit… vulnerable…." Emma said.

"No, no, tomorrow is fine, of course your safety is top priority…so, I'll pick you up at about 7 then?"

"Lovely. Look forward to it," said Emma, leaning over to give him a final glimpse of her ample cleavage, and noting with satisfaction that he had to tear himself away.

**xXx**

A few weeks later, Joe Penhale came to see Martin in his surgery.

"I need your help Doc, It's really important…. and as you're my best friend….." Joe hesitated.

"As you are in my surgery I take it that you have come to consult me on a medical matter? Is it your narcolepsy or your agrophobia?" Martin quizzed him, hoping that another phobia hadn't presented itself – he was meant to be the enforcer of law and order in the village after all. Thank God the crime rate was virtually negligible, otherwise he would have had to report the man to the authorities long ago.

"No, no I don't have those problems any more, since having that cognitive behaviour thingy you sent me for, I'm cured. Good doctoring that was."

"So what is the medical matter you wish to discuss?" Martin was trying to make it clear that this was not the place for personal chit chat.

"Well, I've been seeing someone, a woman I mean, maybe Louisa told you, it's Emma Greenway, one of the teachers at her school," Joe told him.

"And….?" said Martin growing impatient. He vaguely remembered Louisa mentioning something about someone at her school being mad enough to go out with Penhale, but he still failed to see where this was leading.

"Well, we're both pretty keen on each other in you know…an adult way, and well I'm … we're ….very keen to….that is she seems keen to... as well…" Joe tried to explain.

"Are you trying to communicate to me that you both wish to commence sexual relations?" Martin asked.

"_YES_, that's it! I knew you'd understand. You're such a great friend." Joe exclaimed.

"So what's the problem, you're both over the legal age of consent, you're both more than capable of obtaining a supply of condoms, so why do you need to consult me – although if it were her consulting me I might need to check her brain activity if she considers you a suitable partner," Martin said.

"Ha ha very funny, you're such a joker aren't you, but well yes I'm pretty sure that I…we do want to ...have 'sexual relations' as you put it, quite…very…soon I hope…she's so….and her…they're so… but Doc, well, what if I can't …you know …'rise to the occasion' so to speak."

Finally Joe had said what was really worrying him.

"Do you have any history of erectile dysfunction – I don't seem have any reference to that condition in your notes. Did you experience any sexual problems with your wife when you were married?" Martin asked him.

"No, well, I've been divorced several years now, and we didn't really …you know … for the last year or so of our marriage ….well she was never very keen anyway, always had a headache and then after my accident when I got kicked in the head, I always had a headache, so it's been a while so I'm not sure…. you know…. that I'll be able to…. perform."

"There's no logical reason to assume that you will fail to achieve an erection, so I suggest that you simply relax, stop worrying about it and let things take their natural course," Martin advised him.

"I was hoping that you could give me some of them special pills….you know….Viagra, just in case like… then I'd be sure I could….and wouldn't disappoint…she seems keen on me but if I can't….." Joe saw Viagra as the 'magic pill' answer to all his problems.

"Absolutely not! I do _not_prescribe Viagra 'just in case' and don't even think about getting it from the internet, you have no idea what you're actually getting from those places," Martin replied, horrified. "As I said, you simply need to relax, stop worrying and see what happens – if you are both as keen as you say, there should be no problems. If this proves not to be the case, come back, I will carry out a full physical examination and we'll take it from there."

"So, tell me Doc, as best mates, you being married and all now, you didn't find, after not …you know….for a long time…that you had any problems…at first…I mean obviously you did manage..…or Louisa wouldn't have got….." Joe asked him.

"We are here to discuss your medical condition" said Martin, horrified. "This consultation is at an end. Please leave. Goodbye"

**xXx**

Of course, Martin was unable to disclose any of this conversation to Louisa when she was talking to him about what Emma had told her concerning Joe. However, he took a little more interest now, previously he hadn't really listened to what he thought of as just pure gossip.

"Emma seems pretty keen on Joe, we've tried to drop a few hints about his…funny ways, but she says that's part of his charm – no accounting for taste I suppose. Quite sweet really, would be nice to see Joe settled happily in a relationship, I didn't know his wife, but by all accounts she was a bit odd too. Maybe we could invite Joe & Emma round for dinner one evening, help smooth things along for them," Louisa mused.

"Good God, _no_! Don't be ridiculous, Louisa, I'm not having that cup cake coming to our house for dinner, and anyway it would be unprofessional, he's my patient. And this Emma must be a bit strange to want to be with him, so don't even _think_ about having them round," Martin said vehemently.

"OK, OK I get the message loud and clear. It was just a thought," Louisa said.

**xXx**

The next afternoon, Martin was slightly taken aback when Emma Greenway had an appointment at his surgery.

"What can I do for you?" he asked her. She looked normal enough to him, so why the hell was she so keen on a relationship with looney Penhale?

"I want to go on the pill," she said straight out, looking him straight in the eye, with no beating around the bush. "I'm in a relationship that I want to progress to a sexual one, so I want to be prepared."

"I see. Well, I will need to complete some health checks first. If they all prove to be satisfactory, then I will discuss your options with you," Martin replied.

'_At__least__she__seems__to__be__able__to__communicate__effectively',_he thought to himself.

Having completed all the necessary checks, Martin confirmed that there was no medical reason why he would be unable to prescribe the pill for her.

"Do you know the sexual history of your proposed partner – condoms offer the best protection against sexually transmitted infections. And what about you – have any of your recent sexual partners shown any signs of STI's?" Martin asked.

"Neither of us has been in an active relationship for some time, so it's not an issue," Emma coolly replied.

With no reason not to, Martin gave her a prescription for the pill, shaking his head after she'd left the surgery.

"Seems perfectly sane, and she's sensible enough to get contraception sorted out, but really…..with Penhale?" he thought to himself incredulously.

**xXX**

Over the next few weeks, Joe Penhale was a regular visitor to Martin's surgery.

"You were right of course, Doc. No need for that Viagra stuff, no need at all, in fact…Emma said….she thought….I was…very...you know…_good_," Joe reported to Martin proudly. Actually, Emma knew exactly how to get the best from a man, that's what gave her a kick, being in control and enjoying her power.

"Yes, yes, alright, I get the picture," Martin told Joe, desperately trying _not_to get the picture in his mind. "Is that all you came for – to give me a progress report?"

"Yes…..well no….thing is….how do I…..make sure she really enjoys…things? It's so complicated…you know…for a woman," Joe tried to explain.

Martin sighed resignedly.

"Are you asking me for advice on how to ensure that a woman is adequately sexually stimulated and satisfied?" he asked.

"_YES_, that's exactly it, I knew you'd understand cos we're always thinking alike, you and me – the dynamic duo, so I thought you could maybe give me some tips, especially now that you're a married man as well as a Doc. You know, what you've found works best for you and…." Joe said.

"I can recommend some informative reading material that I suggest you study thoroughly," Martin interrupted him. "If you ensure that you have a basic understanding of female anatomy, it will enable you to undertake effective foreplay, and the rest will follow naturally."

Martin handed Joe a list of suitable books.

"Thanks Doc, I knew you'd be able to help, you know, cos of our special relationship."

**xXx**

The next time he paid a visit to Martin's surgery, Joe had a new worry.

"What is it this time Penhale?" Martin asked wearily. He was becoming even more of a pest than usual, but if the man booked a consultation, he had to see him, he supposed. He recalled that Louisa had told him only the other evening that lately Joe always seemed to be finding excuses to call in at the school as well, getting in everyone's way and generally being a nuisance.

"Well, thanks to you, things are going just great, I read those books like you told me to, and well, Emma…..she just….I've never heard noises like she…it was really..." Joe told Martin.

The truth was, Emma had no qualms about telling Joe exactly what she wanted him to do, because she knew what worked for her. Joe was perfect as far as she was concerned, her obedient sex slave with a hot body, none too many brains, complete with genuine police uniform and handcuffs. No pretend kiss-o-gram rubbishy outfit. Fantastic.

"Good, glad that's sorted then."

Martin hoped that he could get him out of the surgery without further questions, but it was not to be.

"It's just that….things are going so well, and with her being a teacher…." Joe started.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Martin asked, puzzled.

"Well she's bound to want kids one day, isn't she? And what if I can't…you know…if my boys ….aren't swimmers?"

"Are you saying that you're worried that you may be infertile?" Martin asked him.

"_YES_ – see it's alright for you, cos you know you're not firing blanks, I mean, you got Louisa knocked up without even trying….." Joe started to explain.

"A healthy lifestyle, which means a nutritious diet, no smoking, no drinking, combined with exercise, will all help to ensure optimum sperm quality and production," Martin told him coldly.

"Can't you arrange a test to check….if my….you know….work?" Joe asked.

"Surely it's very early days in your relationship to be worrying about such matters. Have you actually discussed having children anytime soon with umm….your partner?" Martin couldn't remember Emma's name.

"Well no, not yet, but now that's Emma's moving in with me….you know…. it's more permanent like and so I thought….be prepared, know the worst, wear different underpants to keep things cool…. even if I hate that sort….I read about that…..or do whatever it takes, so you see, if I have a test then at least I'll know," Joe said.

"There is no point in arranging a test unless you are actually trying to conceive a child and failing. There are many factors that may occur between now and then that could affect sperm production and your chances of conceiving a child," Martin told Joe, thinking '_The__main__one__being__that__this__woman__comes__to__her__senses__and__dumps__you'_

**xXx**

Emma moved in with Joe, into his police house accommodation, and much to everyone's surprise, their relationship worked out very well. Joe did exactly what Emma told him to do in virtually every aspect of his life, but she was a sharp cookie, so she made him believe that he was actually making all the decisions – it really wasn't hard to manipulate such a simpleton.

Joe couldn't believe his luck, because he believed that he had found the woman of his dreams, who liked a man to be in charge, just as he was.

The villagers looked on with much amusement, because this was just the kind of free entertainment that they loved.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination**

**Unfinished Business - Chapter 5**

There was one thing that all the recent contact with Penhale had brought to the forefront of Martin's mind. By some miracle, Penhale did seem to have conquered his phobias, the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy seemed to have worked for him. Which only served to remind Martin, painfully, about his own blood phobia.

He could now cope with blood pretty well on an average day to day basis. But he knew, by the reaction he had had when Luke was born, that it still wasn't fully under control. And it niggled him. If an idiot like Penhale could overcome his phobias, surely he ought to be able to do the same. He'd come so close, but clearly when he was very emotionally involved, his control was affected. Maybe if he'd given it more time, maybe had a few more sessions with Doctor Milligan, he would have completely overcome his wretched phobia. But he'd had the deadline of taking the job in London, so he'd had to push things along. And Edith had been on at him all the time.

He hated and loathed the very idea of any further sessions with Doctor Marcel Milligan. Previously, when he'd visited him at his practice in Truro, it had taken all of his willpower to knock on the door and go in rather than turn and walk away. Every fibre of his being had rebelled as he'd sat there, and he'd found the whole process pretty intolerable. However, even Martin had to admit that the therapy exercises on the CD that Doctor Milligan had sent him had proved to be very effective. Maybe, just maybe, if he wanted to finally cure his phobia once and for all, he would have to bite the bullet and make an appointment to see Doctor Milligan again.

**xXx**

Louisa noticed that Martin had been very quiet for a few days now – well he was never exactly what you would call chatty, but over the last few months, as they sat together having their evening meal, he did usually make some contribution to the conversation. Or sometimes in bed – he only slept in 'his' bedroom now on the nights when he was on call – they would talk together about various things that had happened in the day, or something that Luke had done – virtually as any other couple would. But now he seemed preoccupied, and she began to wonder if he would ever confide in her.

**xXx**

They were in bed together, having just made love. Things had been quite difficult over the past few weeks for Louisa, coping with the demands of returning to work and then with Luke being so unsettled in nursery and unwell with his teething and his cold, and then her cold. This meant that they hadn't made love for a while. Martin had thought wistfully about the weeks leading up to their Wedding and then Christmas … it had been a very special time for them both, and he began to wonder if it would ever be quite like that again. So this had been a particularly special love making for them, and now they were relaxing together in the afterglow, which is a time when a couple feel about as close as it's possible to be.

"My ... blood thing, does it bother you?" Martin blurted out, having had it on his mind for a while now.

"Bother _me_ … no, of course not, it's just part of who you are, and I truly admire the way that you always treat any patient in need, despite your…blood thing. I think it's really brave, makes you a very special person. And anyway, you don't seem to have a problem most of the time now from what I've seen," Louisa told him truthfully.

"Most of the time no, but it's still there, lurking in the background. Just look at how I reacted when Luke was born, my own son, but I still had to leave you both to go and vomit, just because he was covered in a bit of blood. So, if I could just knuckle down, make the effort and finally completely overcome it, don't you think that I should? Don't I owe it to my patients to be the best doctor that I possibly can? And how can I tell Luke to do something that he doesn't want to face up to when he's older if I won't do this?" Martin was talking to himself as much as Louisa.

'_So__that's__what's__been__bothering__him,'_ Louisa thought.

"What would you have to do, to try to finally completely cure it?" Louisa asked him.

"Go back to that bloody Doctor Marcel Milligan and put myself through his psychoanalytical claptrap again I guess. Although I suppose now that I do have to admit his therapy techniques did help me before, much to my surprise. Only went to him in the first place because Edith recommended him very highly, told me he was brilliant. She was right, as usual," Martin said.

"Oh. I see," said Louisa. Any mention of Edith made her feel distinctly uneasy. The thought of her bossing Martin around, and influencing him, made her feel sick. Still, she had to put those thoughts aside, because she knew how important this issue was to Martin. He was actually opening up to her about it for the first time since he had initially told her about his phobia all that time ago, in the ambulance with Peter Cronk.

"Well would it be that bad, this time round, now that you know that his therapies do actually work? You don't have to look on it as a sign of weakness to consult him, look on it in the same way as if you were consulting…. oh, I don't know, someone about a painful knee, or something. He's a doctor, he can treat you, if that's what you decide you want to do. But the choice is yours Martin. Luke and I love you just the way you are, and you've never ever let any patient down because of your 'problem', " Louisa told him as she gently kissed his cheek and squeezed his hand.

"Mmm. I could think about it I suppose," said Martin, finding out that the old adage '_a__problem__shared__is__a__problem__halved_' was true. Suddenly it didn't seem such a big issue, so insurmountable, and as for going back to Milligan, well, he was only another type of Doctor after all, as Louisa said.

He squeezed Louisa's hand back, as they both finally went off to sleep.

**xXx**

Louisa was happy that Martin had opened up a bit to her about what was on his mind, but in truth, it had planted a little seed of doubt in her mind. Did Martin still really want to be a surgeon? Was he feeling bored and trapped being a GP in Portwenn? Had she been too busy with Luke and her own job to notice? Is that why he felt he still needed to conquer his blood phobia? It really wasn't an issue with the villagers any more, they knew now that he was a really excellent doctor who knew his stuff, even if his bedside manner was appalling, and his blood thing – well it just made him seem a bit more human like. She remembered guiltily how she had googled both Martin and Edith on the internet out of curiosity after she had seen them together, supposedly working on Edith's study. What she'd read about both of them was extremely impressive, they both had excellent reputations in their fields, although of course Martin's information was now out of date.

The more she thought about it, the more worried she felt. She was still in awe of Martin's incredible abilities, she still sometimes wondered how on earth she had come to marry such a brilliantly clever man – little Louisa Glasson, the country village school teacher. Edith was so much more of an equal to him in so many ways. She could still remember watching them together and how it had felt life a knife turning in her heart. She could also still remember when he came to visit her for the last time at her school before he was leaving. She'd just about managed to stop herself from crying in front of him, but he'd seemed so detached from her, just wanting to hand over the paperwork he'd prepared, not really upset about leaving at all, because he was looking forward to his exciting new job, it had seemed to her. What if….what if he now realised that he was bored out of his mind? She did believe that he loved her in his own way, and that he loved Luke in his own way, but if he felt trapped in a job that bored him to tears he couldn't really be happy, could he? But she had no idea what to do about it.

**xXx**

Doctor Marcel Milligan was surprised when Martin Ellingham made an appointment to see him again.

'_Fascinating__case,'__he__recalled.__'If__Edith__Montgomery__hadn't__filled__me__in__before__Martin__had__come__for__his__first__appointment,__I'd__have__got__precisely__nowhere__with__him.__Could__see__he__wanted__to__walk__straight__back__out,__he'd__really__rather__have__stuck__burning__needles__in__his__eyes__than__be__sitting__in__my__consulting__room.__Classic__case__of__a__phobia__being__brought__on__by__stress,__clearly__the__man__was__a__brilliant__surgeon,__a__perfectionist.__Wonder__if__he's__here__to__see__me__about__that__other__matter__ –__the__new__phobia__ – __that__Edith__called__me__back__about__a__few__months__ago?'_

"So, Martin, please take a seat. Tell me how things have been for you since I last saw you?" Doctor Milligan asked in a very relaxed and friendly manner.

"Fine. That is...better...but…" Martin struggled to explain. He cleared his throat, took a deep breath and finally managed to come out with it.

"Since using the therapy techniques from the CD that you sent to me, there has been a marked improvement in my ability to deal with blood, but I still find that in situations where I am emotionally involved in a personal way, I still experience panic attack symptoms, vomiting, palpitations and so on. That's what happened when I was present at the birth of my son. Naturally there was blood, and I had to leave the room because I had to vomit. I want it to finally stop for good, I want to be fully in control at all times. That's why I have come back to see you." Martin now looked Doctor Milligan straight in the eye.

"I see." _No__mention__of__a__new__phobia__then,__just__a__final__push__on__the__old__one,_Doctor Milligan thought to himself.

"I think that with a series of intensive one to one sessions, there is a realistic chance that we would be able to achieve your goal. Working on your own from a CD is always a longer route, with a much higher chance of a relapse, but as you found it so difficult to engage with me during our last session, it was really the only option to take forward at that time. Martin, there are two steps to solving a problem. Believing that you can solve the problem, and solving the problem. Once you have established belief you are more than halfway there."

"Mmm. Well I have a very busy practice to run, so what is the minimum number of sessions required to complete this...therapy?" Martin asked reluctantly.

"Impossible to say until we start I'm afraid. And err... what about your difficulties in the other area that Edith told me about – is that still causing you problems?" Doctor Milligan asked.

"What other area – what's Edith told you?" Martin asked indignantly.

"A fear of intimacy, of sexual contact, possibly brought on by an unplanned pregnancy situation," Doctor Milligan told Martin, appearing to be very relaxed and laid back, but actually studying Martin's reaction very intently.

"She had no right...there is no 'intimacy' problem whatsoever. Edith just couldn't accept my rejection of her, so she's come up with some stupid, pathetic, outrageous claptrap about me having a new phobia to soothe her wounded ego," Martin replied heatedly, absolutely outraged. "The only problem with intimacy was with _her_, there are no problems _whatsoever_ with the _right_person." As he said this, a picture of Louisa in bed the other night popped into Martin's head, causing just the tiniest smile to hover around his mouth, and his eyes to soften just a fraction

"You're married now then?" Doctor Milligan stated, pointing to Martin's wedding ring.

"Yes," Martin replied.

"Happily? I only ask because it will have a bearing on your therapy," Doctor Milligan pressed Martin. '_It's__like__getting__blood__out__of__a__stone,'_he thought.

"Yes," Martin replied again, twisting the ring on his wedding finger, with the little smile playing around his mouth again.

Doctor Milligan noticed all this, and being highly skilled at reading body language and facial expressions, he judged that Martin was telling him the truth, so he relaxed a little and thought to himself '_I__was__right__then.__Edith__does__suffer__from__egomania.__Hell__hath__no__fury__like__a__woman__scorned__after__all__ – __spreading__rumours__that__he__was__riddled__with__phobias__ – __he__clearly__isn't.__'_ Out loud he said to Martin,

"Right, well, now that you have clarified the situation, we can concentrate on the blood phobia. We can have a short session today, maybe starting with you explaining to me all the feelings that you experienced when your son was born. Then we can book you a session to continue next week, then take it from there, and see how it goes, Martin"

**xXx**

Louisa was sitting in Joan's kitchen. Joan had Luke on her lap, happily letting him play with her necklace, grab her hair, or pull her nose. She didn't mind what he did, she just loved having him with her. Louisa sometimes felt guilty that she asked Joan to help out with Luke so much, but Joan happily had him at anytime – he came before anything else as far as she was concerned. Martin and Louisa had provided Joan with a high chair, a cot and duplicates of all the required baby equipment to make life easier when Luke was at her house. However, it was only a matter of time before he started crawling now, so she knew that it would be harder at her house then.

Louisa was turning a tea spoon over and over on the table, staring at it, and biting her bottom lip.

"Something on your mind Louisa?" Joan asked her.

"Do you think Martin is happy – in his job I mean, do you think maybe he's bored dealing with just coughs and colds and things, I mean he's so clever, so qualified, wouldn't he be happier being a surgeon again, now that he's finally conquering his blood thing, don't you think he must be missing the challenge of all that difficult stuff, won't it make him resentful being stuck here, maybe I'm holding him back, I want him to be happy, I've been so busy sorting my job I haven't thought about him and his job, I don't know what I should do..." Louisa blurted this out in a rush, all these thoughts having been going round and round in her head for days now.

"Oh. Right. I see," said Joan. "Well, have you asked Martin what he feels about his job? Wouldn't that be a good starting point?"

"You know what he's like Joan, I tried, but he just said '_it's__fine'._ I think he's saying what he thinks I want to hear. I can't bear to think of him being bored out of his brain, being unhappy at work but not wanting to tell me because it would upset me."

"You don't know that's the case. Don't jump to conclusions. Complaining about his job and his patients is second nature to him, it doesn't mean that he's unhappy. Being a surgeon can be boring at times I'm sure, stuck in the operating theatre, doing the routine cases as well as the more unusual cases. Just like being a GP, some cases are boring, some are more challenging for him. He never knows what type of case is going to walk through the door next. You're making too much of this Louisa, don't get yourself upset for no good reason. You have to talk to him again, sort this out, if he'll talk to anyone, it'll be you, after all," Joan told Louisa firmly.

"Hmm, I suppose you're right," Louisa replied, but not really sounding convinced.

**xXx**

Martin and Louisa were at Chris and Jenny's house for dinner one evening, having left Luke with Joan for the night. This was one of the few social gatherings that Martin felt comfortable with, so now the two couples met up about once a month, taking it in turns at each other's houses. Having finished what had been a very nice meal, Jenny took Louisa upstairs to show her their newly decorated bedroom, leaving the two men together downstairs in the kitchen.

"So, blood phobia seems finally cured this time eh Mart?" Chris quizzed Martin.

"Well, seems that way," Martin replied gruffly. He had had some sessions with Doctor Milligan, spending quite a long time going over the circumstances of Luke's unplanned emergency birth in the pub. On analysing it, they had worked out that his reaction was all tied up with his fear of not being in control. When it was broken down like that, Martin could accept the logic behind his reaction, and understand how to control those feelings in the future. It was a major step forward, enabling a rapid progression in the completion of his therapy.

"In that case you might be interested in a new initiative that we're planning to pilot. We want suitably qualified GP's to set up surgery clinics in their practices, dealing with quite a variety of cases that don't actually need hospital resources, just a skilled practitioner such as yourself. Would save patients having to trek to hospital, cost effective too as it would be saving on hospital resources. You'd be perfect, if you're interested?" Chris told him.

Louisa came back downstairs at this point, Jenny having gone to settle one of her boys who had woken up. She caught the tail end of the conversation, and couldn't help but stand back to listen.

"Yes, I'd be very interested in that kind of surgical initiative, and I'd be very happy for you to put my name forward," she heard Martin say.

' _What!__what__kind__of__'surgical__initiative'__ – __was__he__going__to__change__his__job__ – __what__was__this__all__about?'_

Her heart raced as she listened on.

"Right, will do. Thought it'd be right up your street. So how's everything else, how's married life suiting you?" Chris asked. Chris was one of the very few people who could ask Martin a personal question and actually be likely to get an answer.

"Suiting me very well, since you ask. Few ups and downs but...it's pretty damn good actually," Martin replied, and Louisa heard a softer tone in his voice as he spoke.

"Very glad to hear it. And fatherhood – coping with the challenge are you?" Chris asked again.

"Well, don't think I'm exactly a natural at it, but I'm getting there, I hope so anyway," Martin replied.

"Yes, but are you enjoying the little fellow – he is a lovely little chap isn't he? You're very lucky you know," Chris told Martin.

"Yes I know I am. Didn't know ...well, how strong... I suppose it's only natural to feel so..." Martin struggled to put his feelings into words, as usual.

"Yes, it gets us all like that, Martin," said Chris. "Can't imagine life without them, once they're here. So no regrets about not taking the London job then?"

"God no! That would have been a terrible mistake I realise now. I'd conveniently forgotten the long hours stuck in the cramped operating theatre, and then all the hassle of running a team, the stress of London life, all the traffic, all the crowds of people...no, I had a lucky escape, all things considered, very lucky...and with Louisa...giving me a chance...with Luke too..." Martin replied.

"Well mate, I'm really glad to hear that everything's working out so well for you both, you deserve it. And I'll let you know about the other matter as soon as I hear anything."

On hearing Martin open up to Chris about how happy he was, Louisa felt as if her heart would burst with happiness, it was as if all her recent worries had put a cold block on her heart, and now that had been melted away. She stood there with a big smile on her face, taking it in.

Then Louisa heard Jenny coming down the stairs too, so she casually walked back into the kitchen, not letting on that she had heard anything, but burning with curiosity to know what this 'surgical initiative' was. But she would have to wait for Martin to tell her, unless she was prepared to admit that she had been eavesdropping on their conversation.

Martin drove home - he always drove when they went out together. He didn't drink, whereas Louisa quite liked to have an occasional glass of wine, but he preferred to drive anyway. Louisa waited to see if Martin was going to say anything about this new job.

He didn't. So finally Louisa had to ask,

"So, what were you and Chris chatting about in the kitchen – you seemed pretty engrossed when I came in," she tried to seem casually disinterested.

"Oh, just this and that. You know, work things," Martin replied distractedly. He was actually thinking through how he could organise a surgery unit at his practice.

'_Is__he__being__evasive__or__just__his__normal__non__communicative__self?'_Louisa wondered.

"What work things?" Louisa tried again.

"Oh just that Chris suggested I might like to pilot a new initiative for GP's to undertake some of the suitable surgery procedures at the practice, instead of patients having to go to hospital. Makes sense really. Not sure how it would be best organised, might mean changing things round at my surgery, altering what times patients can have a normal appointment, that sort of thing." Martin replied, still not really giving her his full attention.

"Oh I see. That sounds like a very good idea actually. And it would mean a bit more variety for you too," Louisa was so relieved to finally find out what was going on. She realised that it had really piqued Martin's interest and that was what he was thinking about at the moment, so she was now content to sit in silence as they drove back.

When they got home and walked into the hall, Louisa stood on the second stair to make her the same height as Martin, and pulled him to her for a kiss.

"What's this for?" Martin asked, but not objecting.

"I just wanted to tell you that you make me very, very happy," Louisa said as she wrapped her arms around him and planted a kiss on his lips. "In fact if you come upstairs with me right now, I'll show you just how happy you make me, Doctor Ellingham," she whispered, as she undid his jacket, ran her hands up his chest to his neck and pulled his head down for another, longer kiss.

"Right...well... anything you say, Mrs Ellingham," Martin replied, not quite sure what he had done to deserve this, but more than prepared to go along with her suggestion.' _Must__be__her__hormones__making__her__very__emotional',_ he decided, as he followed her up to their bedroom, with a smile on his face.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**In the Name of the Father - Chapter 6**

It was a Saturday morning, at the beginning of the Easter holidays for Louisa. She'd been playing with Luke on the floor in the lounge, when the phone rang. With his Mummy momentarily distracted. Luke took the opportunity to crawl as fast as he could towards the door, knowing exactly where he was heading. Louisa looked up and smiled as she saw him, she also knew exactly where he was heading – Martin's study. Now that he could crawl, Luke always made a bee line for it any chance he got. She didn't stop him, knowing the stair gate was in place and he could come to no harm. She always encouraged any interaction between Luke and his father. Besides, it was so sweet, the way Luke obviously adored his Daddy. Martin tried to be all grumpy about it, but she knew that really he was thrilled.

Luke crawled quickly towards the study door, and gave a little chuckle when he saw that it was slightly ajar. He pushed it open with his chubby little hand, and crawled straight towards Martin's feet. When he got there, he sat up, and looked at Martin, feeling very pleased with himself.

"What do you want?" Martin said on hearing Luke laughing by his feet. He looked down at his son, who was now trying to pull himself up by hanging on to Martin's trousers. Martin picked him up and stood him on his lap looking at him, smiling despite himself because Luke was just so cute and irresistible. Luke took the opportunity to grab at Martin's ears, thinking this was great fun.

"Where's your Mother, hmmm….? She's supposed to be looking after you," said Martin, trying to be gruff, but Luke was always so happy to see him that it made it very hard to be cross with him.

Louisa had now finished on the phone, and was on her way to see Martin's reaction to his little visitor, when the doorbell rang as she passed by.

She opened the door to see a tall, white haired, rather distinguished looking man there, who looked vaguely familiar, although she couldn't quite say why.

"Good Morning, I'm looking for Martin Ellingham, I was told I'd find him here. Christopher Ellingham, Martin's father," he said, holding out his hand, as he looked appreciatively at Louisa. Christopher had always had an eye for a beautiful woman, and although she was wearing just a simple red blouse, with a denim skirt, and her hair loose, Louisa looked stunning. He was just thinking that he must have the wrong house, believing Martin to be a confirmed bachelor.

"Louisa Ellingham, Martin's wife," Louisa replied as she took the proffered hand and shook it.

Christopher was visibly shocked. This beauty – Martin's wife! He could hardly credit it, and was, for once, speechless.

At that moment, Martin came out of his study carrying Luke, wondering who was at the door.

"Dad! What the hell are you doing here?" Martin said coldly. "What do you want?"

"Oh come now, no need to be like that is there?" said Christopher, staring at Luke. He didn't need to ask if this was Martin's son, it was blatantly obvious that he was, because they were so alike.

"And this must be my Grandson, well, well. What a grand little chap he seems – what's his name then?" Christopher put his hand out to Luke, but Luke became shy and buried his face in Martin's neck and clung to him. Martin suddenly felt very protective, and found himself instinctively putting his hand on Luke's head to reassure him. Maybe it was a flash of the memories of how his father had treated him.

"This is Luke and he doesn't like strangers."

Martin glowered at his father as he remained in the doorway. He obviously wasn't going to go away.

"Alright, you'd better come in, I suppose," he said reluctantly, as he handed Luke back to Louisa, showed his father into his study and closed the door.

The two men looked at each other.

"My word Martin, I'm really _very_ impressed, that is one hell of a beautiful wife you've got yourself there, I really didn't imagine you had it in you, I must say. And a son – fine boy, if a bit on the soft side, still I'm sure the right school will sort him out ….have you put his name down yet for anywhere decent? It's never too early.…"

"Shut up and tell me what you want. You didn't come here to give me unwanted parenting advice."

Martin looked at his father and raised his eyebrows in a questioning way.

"If it's more money you're after, you're out of luck. I thought I'd made that crystal clear the last time we spoke. I also told you not to come back here, or have you conveniently forgotten that?"

It had been several years since their last contact.

"Look, I do feel really bad about how things were left between us, that regrettable….. misunderstanding, sorry business that was, but you know I really had no choice…." Christopher tried to explain.

"Of course you had a choice, don't try to make excuses for your appalling behaviour towards your own sister," Martin snarled back at him.

"Well, I just want to try to patch things up now, put things right, make a new start, forget all that unpleasantness. Surely enough water has passed under the bridge now, and I am your father after all. And, of course the boy's Grandfather."

Christopher was speaking in what he considered a conciliatory tone – it just sounded like wheedling and whining to Martin.

"Why now? It's taken all these years for your conscience to catch up with you has it?"

"Well, I know it's taken a bit of time, longer than I would have liked, but I've managed to turn things around, sorted out the financial concerns, made a bit of money actually, now that property prices have crashed – done me a favour. I expect you know that your Mother and I are divorced, she went off with that other fellow, so you see, you and Joan are all the family I have. And I'm now in a position to make you a very good business proposition. I've found this excellent private practice in Harley Street, so rather than being a GP in this God forsaken place, I thought we could set up a partnership together, as Doctors Ellingham and Ellingham, maybe your boy could even join us one day, that sounds good, don't you think? I could be the sleeping partner, you know, stand in for you when you're on holiday, that sort of thing. It would make you a wealthy man too. And now that you've got a family to provide for…."

"I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in being set up in private practice in London, I'm settled here, we like it, this is our home. All you're interested in is creaming the profits from a lucrative private practice set up to serve the needs of the hypochondriacal London society time wasters. If you're so flush now, maybe you should consider helping your sister out. You know - the one you wanted to evict from her farm. I certainly don't want anything from you, or to work with you – although I doubt you would actually do any work, you'd just sod off and play golf all the time, you just want to hang on to my coat tails to get yourself a living," Martin stated. His father obviously knew nothing about the new surgery initiative that Martin was about to implement at his practice, and he saw no point in wasting his breath in telling him about it – he would only belittle or criticise it anyway, he knew only too well from past experience.

"Look there's no need to be hasty, I understand, you need some time to think it over, to speak to your gorgeous wife, I'm sure she'd absolutely love the kind of life style you could have in London," Christopher tried again to convince Martin.

"You have no idea what my wife would like, you only met her two minutes ago, and she hates London actually," Martin told him coldly.

"Oh come now, what woman wouldn't want the finer things in life, especially a beauty like her, she deserves to be treated like a queen," said Christopher.

"Just because Mum was shallow, materialistic and narcissistic, don't assume all women are like that," Martin shot back at his father.

Christopher changed his tack.

"Look I do want to smooth things over with Joan, but you know that she won't have anything to do with me – so I thought you could maybe smooth the path a bit for me, you know she thinks of you as her son."

"That's because she is my mother as far as I'm concerned. A real parent." Martin said.

"Well, there you are then. Look, I'm staying at the pub, you need some time so I'll leave you to think it over, but do get back to me soon, would be great for me to see my days out with us working together. You're just being stubborn, you know you would prefer London really. You're just putting a brave face on things down here, and I'm giving you the opportunity to finally get out of this place for good. Right, well, can I just say goodbye to that angel of a wife of yours before I go?" Christopher pleaded.

"No, you can't. I'll see you out," said Martin, showing him to the door.

**xXx**

Louisa had disappeared into the kitchen with Luke when Martin had taken his father into his study. She didn't know all the details, but she knew there had been some kind of a big falling out over Joan's farm the last time his parents had been here several years ago, Joan couldn't even mention her brother's name without getting angry. She heard the men's voices and then the front door opening and closing. She guessed Christopher had gone. She waited to see if Martin would come and find her to fill her in, but he didn't. Knowing how hard Martin always found it to talk about 'feelings', she wasn't sure what to do, but her gut feeling was to go find him and ask him what had happened, because she felt that it would be best to get it out in the open.

She picked up Luke from his high chair where he had been sitting happily chewing on a rusk – food always kept him quiet for a while - and went to find Martin.

He was standing in his study, looking out of the window, with his hands behind his back. This was how he stood when he was thinking, trying to work something out, weighing up the pros and cons.

"Are you alright?" she quietly asked, gently putting her hand on his sleeve.

Martin turned to her and she could see now that he was shaking with anger, he was so furious that he didn't know how to start explaining.

"How _dare_ he walk back in here as calm as you like and expect everything to be fine, sorted out, forgiven. Just because he's made good, got money again, he thinks that I'd want to set up a practice with him, be partners, let him make a living from me. I'd rather rot in hell first. And he had the gall, the cheek, to say that Luke was 'a bit soft', that a good school would sort him out when he hadn't even been here two minutes," Martin said, taking Luke from Louisa and actually cuddling him, much to her surprise. Luke was covered in rusk and very sticky. For once, Martin didn't seem to care.

"So what are you going to do?" Louisa asked him.

"Well first I suppose I'd better go and see Joan straight away. If he's staying in the village pub, word will soon spread and I don't want her hearing about him being here from someone else," Martin said, handing Luke back to Louisa, gathering up his car keys, and walking out.

**xXx**

Joan was every bit as indignant as Martin, and refused point blank to see Christopher, or have anything to do with him.

"I don't need his money, he can shove it up his arrogant arse, he can't buy forgiveness from us now. All this about him wanting to be a 'partner' with you, don't trust him Marty, he'd just let you do all the work, then take all the credit and the money. Doesn't want to end up a lonely old man, either, I bet. Well he made his bed all those years ago, he can bloody well lie in it now, all by himself," was her harsh response.

**xXx**

On the Monday morning, Louisa was sitting at her kitchen table, taking the chance of the school holidays to catch up on some paperwork. Luke was having his morning nap upstairs in his cot.

The doorbell rang, and when she opened the door, there stood Christopher Ellingham.

"Look, can I have a word with you, I know Martin is in his surgery, so I was hoping I'd catch you alone," Christopher explained to her. He'd spent Sunday playing golf, waiting to hear from Martin, but as he hadn't, he'd decided to try to push things along by getting Louisa on his side.

"You'd better come in," she said, leading him into the kitchen and offering him a chair.

"Where's the boy then?" asked Christopher, looking around.

"Upstairs, having his morning nap," Louisa replied, pointing at the baby monitor. Martin had now filled her in with the events of the previous visit his father had made. Louisa was very proud of Martin, the way that he had looked after Joan and made sure that she could stay at the farm by using money from the sale of his London flat. It made her love him even more. She wasn't in the least bit worried by the fact that it meant he had had less money to spend when they bought their house – why on earth would she want a bigger house than they had now? They had everything they needed and more, as far as she was concerned.

"Shame," said Christopher, "I would have liked to have seen the little chap again. Still, it's you I want to talk to. Look can't you get Martin or Joan to see reason, I just want to put right the silly misunderstanding we had all that time ago. It got blown out of proportion, was over nothing, really. Martin and Joan always could hold a grudge longer than anyone I know, bloody unreasonable, stubborn as mules the pair of them."

Christopher was again using his wheedling tone of voice, which grated on Louisa.

"That's between you and them, I can't interfere, not my business," Louisa replied firmly.

"But it _is_ your business my dear, I mean, surely you'd like a much bigger, better house, get away from this little village in the back of beyond, send the boy to a decent private school, let him board, toughen him up, make a man of him? Martin means well enough I suppose, but he never did have much sense about these things, and as for being a little village GP.…." Christopher started saying, but was interrupted by Louisa, who could listen no more.

"Why on earth would I want a bigger house, this house is perfect for us, we love it here. And why in God's name would I want to send our son to private school when I'm the Head Teacher at Portwenn School? As for letting him board, to 'toughen up' – if by that you mean become emotionally stilted and withdrawn, then the answer to that is 'never in a million years'. And why do you always belittle Martin? What kind of a father are you anyway? Martin is an amazing, gifted doctor, a wonderful husband, and the perfect father to Luke."

Christopher looked at her in astonishment at this outburst.

"Well, I must say you're very spirited. I was just trying…"

"Look, Martin and I are _very_ happy as we are, thank you all the same, we have no wish whatsoever to move to London, can't stand the place actually. Our home is here in Cornwall."

"No need to be so hasty, spend a bit more time thinking my offer over, think what's best for the boy, what sort of life is he going to have stuck here, miles from any kind of culture or society."

Christopher was getting desperate now, and was playing every card that he could think of.

"I think you've said enough Christopher, we don't need time to think things over, we simply aren't interested, but there's nothing to stop you setting up your own practice in London if you think it's such a great idea, is there? So thanks, but no thanks."

Louisa showed him to the door as she was telling him this, and then firmly shut it behind him as he left, exhaling loudly as she did so.

**xXx**

When she came back into the kitchen, Martin was there – he sometimes popped back at lunch time if he had enough time whenever Louisa was at home. He'd been walking up to the kitchen back door, when he heard his fathers' voice, so he stopped to listen, without them being aware, meaning that he'd actually heard more or less everything that had been said.

"Martin, your father was here, you've just missed him," Louisa told him.

"Oh I didn't miss anything, I have absolutely no wish to see him," said Martin, looking at Louisa with love and admiration. It felt so good to him to have a partner, a soul mate, who had stood up to his father and defended him, not only because she loved him, but because she wanted exactly the same things that he did – their family, their home, their life together in Cornwall. And to think that he used to worry that they didn't have enough in common to make a go of things between them.

"I couldn't help but overhear the last part of your conversation actually," Martin confessed, partially telling the truth. "And I think you may have unintentionally figured out why Dad is so desperate for me to set up with him."

"What do you mean?" Louisa asked him.

"Well, as you know, he's been abroad in Portugal for some time, tied up with his wretched golf course scheme or something else just as ghastly no doubt, so he hasn't actually practiced medicine in the UK for quite some time. By law, all doctors must be registered with the General Medical Council before they can practice here. They've also very recently brought in 'revalidation' which means that all doctors have to regularly prove that they are up to date and fit to practice medicine. I've just checked the List of Registered Medical Practioners, and guess what?" Martin said.

"Don't tell me, he's not on the list, he hasn't 'revalidated' so he can't set up a practice," Louisa finished the explanation. "He never had any intention of actually working as a doctor, just freeloading from you…."

"Yep. My guess is that he bought the Harley Street Practice thinking he could charm enough patients who had more money than sense to make an easy living from, before he found out about 'revalidation'. Now he's stuck with an expensive practice that he can't use, unless he could somehow persuade me to take it on. Of course he could put the work in to be able to revalidate –not any easy task at his age, after such a long break from practicing medicine, so I don't think he could be bothered. It was never really about helping us out, his proposition was always about getting _him_ out of a fix," Martin said.

Somehow though, he couldn't be bothered to be angry about it all anymore, because all this had shown him that he had something far more precious that his father had ever had – a loving marriage to an amazing woman. He could almost feel sorry for his father –_almost_ but not quite.

"Look, let's go out to dinner tonight, you're on your holidays after all, maybe we could walk down to Bert's, take Luke with us, the place has only just re-opened after the winter so he hasn't had a chance to introduce too many strains of salmonella or listeria yet," Martin suggested. Luke usually sat with them when they had their evening meal, Louisa felt that it was important to all be together at least once during the day whenever possible, especially when they had both been at work all day. Luke happily tried all sorts of food that they had, usually getting in a terrible mess, but going for his bath afterwards.

"Right…yes…., that would be lovely. Ermm….what have I done to deserve this then Martin?" Louisa asked, rather taken aback.

"Nothing, nothing, I just thought that it would make a nice change, that's all," Martin said. He still found it very hard to vocalize his feelings to the woman that he loved so very much. But to try to show her how he felt, he went over and kissed her, holding her very closely to him, as she stood on tiptoe to reach him. The chemistry between them instantly ignited strong stirrings of desire in both of them, and they started kissing more intently, Louisa undoing Martin's jacket and reaching inside to put her arms around him and press up against him – she loved doing that, and he loved her doing it. They carried on kissing, stumbling back towards the kitchen table, Martin lifting Louisa onto the table, still kissing, with their passion now reaching red hot levels, as they fumbled and struggled to remove the articles of clothing that were hindering their progress. Finally successful, Louisa wrapped her legs around Martin as he pulled her to him in an urgent coupling that had no finesse, just pure mutual need…

Joan walked up to the back door of Martin and Louisa's house as she did most days, glancing in the window as she passed by, just about to call out '_only__me'_, as she always did. However, she was stopped in her tracks by what she saw going on in the kitchen.

"Well, it seems Martin has no objection to a bit of action on the kitchen table himself now, does he? No doubt about it, Louisa's finally fixed his plumbing up," she chuckled to herself, as she turned around and walked away. Joan was as broad minded as they come, she'd led a pretty colourful life herself, so she wasn't at all shocked. In fact she was delighted to see her nephew losing his inhibitions in such a way, it was far healthier than the uptight stuffy individual that he used to be, in her opinion.

Martin and Louisa continued, both quickly reaching the climax to their intense passion. However, they were disturbed as they were recovering afterwards by hearing sounds on the baby monitor of Luke waking up from his nap and wanting to be picked up.

"Someone wants their lunch I think," Louisa's voice was muffled in Martins' chest.

"Luke can just wait a minute," Martin told her, still catching his breath and not letting her go straight away. They finally had to break apart when they could hear that Luke was getting very impatient indeed to be picked up. He was hungry and he _didn't_ appreciate being kept waiting.

**xXx**

Al had popped into the surgery to see Pauline. She was fretting because the Doc was late back from lunch, and the patients were starting to back up.

"Where's he got to, he's never usually late. I'll give him five more minutes, then I'll have to ring him to see what's happened," Pauline told Al.

"Where's he gone then?" asked Al.

"Went home for lunch. Something must have happened to make him late," Pauline worried.

"Bet you he's gone home for a bit of 'Afternoon Delight', if you know what I mean. After all Louisa'll be at home cos it's the school holidays, eh?" said Al, winking at Pauline.

"Al Large, that is _DISGUSTING_, this is the Doc we're talking about. He wouldn't do anything like that, I know he wouldn't," Pauline replied, shuddering with distaste.

Martin now walked into the surgery.

"Umm…..sorry I'm late, medical emergency," he muttered, clearing his throat.

"Next patient," he bellowed, striding into his surgery without a backward glance.

Pauline looked at Al witheringly.

"Afternoon Delight. The Doc. As if."

Al just smiled knowingly and tapped his nose.

"Don't you be too sure, Pauline. He's a dark horse that one, you mark my words."

"Yea and you've got an evil one track mind, Al."

**xXx**

That evening, at around 6.15pm, Christopher Ellingham was walking up the hill towards his son's house. He was going to have one last ditch, full on attempt to persuade Martin to come to London with him. He was actually desperate to get Martin to agree to his proposition. He'd sunk everything he had into the Harley Street practice, no one had told him about this stupid 'revalidation' business with the GMC, he hadn't bothered to keep up with all the latest developments in the UK. He'd known that he'd be safe offering to help Joan out financially, virtually certain that she'd instantly reject any offer of help from him.

As he walked past the Large restaurant, he was just in time to see Martin and Louisa going down the steps to the restaurant. Martin was carrying Luke, and the little boy was smiling up at his Daddy happily. He watched with interest as Bert greeted them and made a big show of finding them a table with a beautiful view – it was a lovely sunny evening – and then getting a high chair for the baby and making a fuss of him. He saw them sit down together, he saw how they looked at each other, and how Louisa gave Martin a little kiss on his lips. He also remembered how fiercely Louisa had defended Martin when he'd dared to voice some minor criticism of him.

As he stood there watching, it finally dawned on him that there would never be anything that he could do or say that would tempt his son to change the life that he had here in Cornwall.

He slowly walked back down the hill to his stale, lonely room in the pub, to try to think of another plan, another way to get himself out of his latest fix.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Trouble in Paradise - Chapter 7**

Martin's plans for undertaking surgical procedures at his practice had hit a stumbling block. He'd submitted a detailed proposal to all the necessary authorities as required, only to have it rejected on the grounds of 'insufficient parking and limited access' issues. He was furious.

"Why suggest that I apply and then reject my practice on some stupid technicality – we manage perfectly well with 'insufficient parking and limited access' every day, that's all part of running a rural practice, for God's sake," Martin ranted at Chris.

"Look I'm sorry, I feel bad for suggesting it and getting your hopes up, but apparently it's some new EU regulation, new businesses – and yes, they classify a doctors' surgery as a business - have to prove that if there is likely to be an increase in the volume of traffic, there will be sufficient and adequate vehicular access and parking. It doesn't apply to existing businesses, but due to the quite substantial changes the extra surgery work would bring to your practice, they decided that it comes under the 'new business' category," Chris explained.

"Bloody pen pushers in Brussels interfering in matters that they know nothing about, wasting everybody's time," Martin grumbled. He'd spent a lot of time in the evenings and weekends putting together a very thorough and detailed proposal. Louisa had been helpful and understanding about it all, but now he was cross because it seemed that it was all for nothing. He was pretty disappointed because he'd really thought it was an excellent idea, benefiting patients, and giving him a new challenge.

"Well, all is not lost, Martin. There are a couple of options. One is to simply scale back the proposal a little so that it won't be classified as a new business. Don't know how you'd feel about that?" Chris asked him.

"I suppose it's a possibility, but I thought the whole point was that I'd undertake as wide a range of procedures as possible to make it worthwhile implementing all the necessary changes," Martin said.

"The other option is a bit more….radical, I suppose you could say. Thing is when word got out that you were going back into some sort of surgery again, I received quite a few enquiries asking if you'd possibly consider working as a surgeon in Truro hospital... maybe for just a day or two a week, or even maybe…. full time. If you felt ready for it." Chris looked intently at Martin to see what his reaction was.

Martin was surprised, but pleasantly so. He'd been a lot more open and up front about the therapy he'd had from Doctor Milligan this time. Louisa had told him not to regard getting help as admitting a weakness or failure, and he'd realised she was right – that in itself had been a huge leap forward. As Doctor Milligan had told him originally, 'you're not running from me, but from yourself'. By choosing, of his own free will, with no one pressuring him, to have another go at therapy, he had felt in control. He'd come to respect Doctor Milligan, having always scoffed at doctors in his field. Now Martin accepted that it was just as important to understand the workings of the mind as it was to understand the workings of organs such as the heart. As part of his new openness, Martin felt reasonably comfortable in referring to his therapy, and so he was able to let Doctor Milligan vouch for his full recovery. This meant that other surgeons, who knew of his brilliant skills, felt much more confident in enquiring about him.

"Well, I don't know about that, wasn't expecting it, I'd have to think about it," Martin said slowly. Chris could see that it had definitely sparked some interest in him.

"Look, there's no immediate rush, think about it, talk it over with Louisa, could mean some pretty big changes after all," Chris told him.

**xXx**

"It's up to you Martin, whatever makes you happy in your job, I'll go along with," Louisa told Martin when he asked what she thought. Martin had been very supportive about her job, so she reasoned she owed him the same in return. In reality, she was more than a little scared of what some of the changes could mean to their home life. It was one thing doing surgery at the practice in Portwenn, quite another being a surgeon in Truro. But if that was what he decided he wanted to do, she would support him 100% - she would never want to think that she had held him back.

Joan, however, expressed more doubts to Martin when he told her of his plans.

"I was thinking that maybe I could do one or two days a week surgery in Truro, and three or four days a week in Portwenn at the practice, maybe extend my practice opening hours to compensate. That way it would be the best of both worlds," Martin explained to her.

"Or is it trying to have your cake and eat it," Joan said disapprovingly. "Isn't there a danger that you'll end up spreading yourself too thinly? I thought that when you decided not to go to London you'd decided against going back into surgery at all, so what's changed now? Wasn't anything that wretched father of yours said when he was here was it, did something he say get to you? What about spending time with your family now that you've finally got one, hmm? And you certainly wouldn't have time to pop home to Louisa in your lunch hour would you?" She looked at Martin knowingly.

Martin looked at her in horror – good God, she hadn't seen…is that why she'd started coming to the front door when she came round, he'd thought that was a bit strange, because she usually came round to the back door.

"Anyway, what does Louisa say about all this?" Joan asked him.

"She says that it's my choice and that she'll support me whatever I decide I want to do," Martin told her. "So are you saying that I should be a surgeon _or_ a GP but not try to do both?"

"I'm just saying that your life is very different now from when you were a surgeon before. Then you could happily spend hours and hours preparing and planning procedures in the evenings and weekends because you were single with nothing else to do. You're a married man now, you've made a commitment to Louisa and Luke, so is it really fair to them to commit yourself to two very demanding jobs? Is that really the kind of life you want now Martin? You're the happiest I've ever seen you these days, so you just be careful that you don't go and spoil things, whatever Louisa says about being happy to support you."

**xXx**

"What?" Martin irritably answered the phone in his surgery. "Pauline, I'm with a patient, so you don't put calls through, surely you know that by now?"

"Unless it's an emergency, Doc, that's what you said, and Mrs Ellingham said it was," said Pauline huffily.

"Well why didn't you say, put her through," Martin bellowed back.

"What's the matter, what's the emergency Louisa?" he demanded to know.

"It's Luke, I'm probably overreacting, worrying over nothing but…" Louisa started to explain. She was still at home from school for the Easter holidays.

"What's wrong with him?" Martin sat up and took notice now.

"He didn't wake up from his morning nap for his lunch as normal, and you know how unusual that is," Louisa told him. Martin remembered only too well the other day when Luke had cut short their recovery from the episode in the kitchen, by waking up and demanding to be picked up for his lunch.

"So I went up to check him, and he didn't really want to wake up, so I brought him downstairs to give him his lunch, but he didn't want it," Louisa carried on. They both knew that this was really unusual behaviour for their son, because he always loved his food.

"And I'm not sure but I think that maybe his breathing's a bit funny, and his hands and feet look a bit... well, blue. Martin, he's just not his normal self at all, should I bring him down to the surgery for you to check him over, make sure he's alright?" Louisa asked him anxiously.

"Louisa, look carefully, has he got a rash on his body anywhere – this is very important." Martin tried to stay calm and not panic as the worst case scenario was racing through his brain.

"He's got a little bit of a rash, a few spots, on his chest," Louisa said.

"When you press them, do they fade away – press a glass against them so that you can see," Martin instructed her. He waited impatiently while she did this, alarm bells ringing in his mind.

"Oh God Martin, no they don't." Louisa knew enough to know that this was not good.

"Call an ambulance NOW, and tell them it's suspected meningococcal septicaemia. I'll organise some antibiotics to pre-emptively treat him, and I'll be there as soon as I can." Martin's heart felt an ice cold chill envelope it. Luke had several of the classic symptoms, and needed to get to hospital as soon as possible. But the sooner Martin gave him the antibiotics, the better his outlook was, if indeed his provisional diagnosis proved to be correct.

Martin looked at the overweight middle aged lady patient still sat in his surgery that he'd been dealing with.

"Eat less, move around more, then you'll lose weight. This consultation is over. Now go."

He strode out of his consulting room, shouting out at the waiting patients.

"All appointments are cancelled, highly urgent medical emergency, go home."

He quickly scribbled a note and handed it to Pauline.

"Ring Mrs Tishell and tell her to have this ready for you to collect immediately, then bring it up to my house – as fast as you possibly can – it's for Luke," Martin explained as he shot out of the door with his medical bag.

"You heard the man, MOVE IT," Pauline shouted at everyone, as she picked up the phone to call Mrs Tishell.

**xXx**

Martin ran into their house, calling out "Louisa, where are you?"

"We're up here Martin, in Luke's room," Louisa replied.

Martin rushed up the stairs two at a time, then raced into Luke's room, panting from his exertions.

"Did you call the ambulance, how long did they say they'd be?"

"They said fifteen to twenty minutes, so they should be here soon," Louisa told him, handing Luke over to Martin to examine him.

Martin quickly examined his little boy, and with a sinking heart his worst fears were realised when he did the glass test on the rash – the spots didn't fade. All the other symptoms confirmed the probable diagnosis, as Luke just lay there lethargically.

"Oh God, no," he groaned, then seeing Louisa's white panic stricken face, he pulled himself together.

"How long has he been like this? He seemed alright this morning when he woke up, didn't he?" _Had__he__missed__something,__should__he__have__noticed,__was__he__being__his__usual__preoccupied__self_, he wondered guiltily.

"He…he was just a bit quiet, that's all. Oh Martin, this is really bad isn't it?"

Louisa was shaking now, and biting her knuckle to stop herself from crying.

"We don't know that yet, that's why he needs to go to hospital, for tests to confirm what's wrong with him, but just in case, I'm going to treat him for the worst case scenario. Where's Pauline with the antibiotics?" As he said this, they heard Pauline's scooter drive up, so Louisa ran down to let her in.

"Here you are Doc, went as fast as I dared," Pauline said breathlessly as she handed over the drugs. Martin wasted no time in preparing the syringe and giving Luke the injection, heaving a sigh of relief as he heard the ambulance siren.

**xXx**

"Suspected meningococcal septicaemia case – we'll take it from here," the paramedic said as he started to examine Luke, who was lying in Louisa's arms listlessly.

"I'm the GP – I've given him a pre-emptive shot of broad spectrum antibiotics, but time is of the essence so I suggest we get a move on, quick as you like," Martin told them brusquely, knowing that if he admitted to being the father they would not let him carry on.

"OK – let's get him in the ambulance to set up a drip and oxygen, then we'll be on our way," the paramedic agreed. "We'll radio ahead to tell paediatric intensive care to expect him.

In the ambulance on the way to the hospital with blues and twos going at full pelt, Louisa watched as Martin and the paramedic constantly monitored Luke, not interrupting, guessing his reason for not admitting to being Luke's father. She simply put her total trust in Martin to do whatever he judged best for their son. At the hospital, Luke was rushed into the paediatric intensive care unit. They immediately started working on him, setting up drips and monitors.

Martin came out to explain to Louisa what was going to happen.

"I've already given him a shot of broad spectrum antibiotics in the hope that it will start to kill the infection, but we need to find out if a more specific antibiotic would be better. To do this, Luke will need blood tests, and a lumbar punch to check the cerebrospinal fluid. He is on a fluid drip and oxygen to give him all the support that he needs to fight the infection, and he may possibly be given a steroid injection to help too. He will be carefully monitored, but once the best treatment has been established, it's just a case of wait and see, and hope that he fights off the infection. The next 24 – 48 hours are critical."

Louisa collapsed in tears in Martin's arms. He was just about managing to hold onto his own control, because he knew that he had to be strong for her. Now that Luke was in hospital safely, he had admitted that this child was his own son, allowing the consultant paediatrician to take over, but Martin was still watching them intently to make sure that nothing was missed, and that everything possible was being done.

"Look, I'd better phone Joan and tell her what's happened, it'll be all round the village and I don't want her finding out…."

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Joan hurrying up, her face worried and anxious.

"Pauline phoned me, told me what had happened, I came as soon as I could – any news?" Joan asked.

Martin silently thanked Pauline. He'd left her to lock up their house and take care of things at the surgery as they'd left in such a panicked hurry. It seemed that she was using her initiative to try to ease things for him.

"Luke's in intensive care, being treated, so now it's just a case of waiting. The next 24 – 48 hours are critical," Martin said.

"I have to be in with him," Louisa said, disappearing into the room.

"So how bad is it Marty – tell me the truth." Joan took Martin to one side.

Martin took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Bad, Auntie Joan, it's bad…." Martin's voice cracked as he covered his eyes with his hand. He'd kept himself on a very tight reign all the time that he'd been responsible for Luke's care at home and in the ambulance, but now that he'd handed him over to the specialist team, and he could do no more, it suddenly hit him very hard.

"We could lose him, he could be severely disabled….I can't bear to think…..our precious boy….."

Joan hugged Martin tightly.

"We have to believe he'll be alright Marty, he's a strong lad, a fighter, you'll see. He has to be alright." Tears were coursing down her face too.

**xXx**

Over the next two days it seemed to Louisa that they just kept doing test, after test, after test, but if Martin said that it was the right thing to do for Luke, she knew that it was, so she didn't ask too many questions, she simply left that side of things to him. She knew that he was trying to be strong for her, and that his way of coping was to concentrate on the medical aspects of it all, but she could see that he was just as scared as she was when she saw his expression as he looked at Luke, all wired up and monitored, just lying there, stripped down to his nappy. In a way it must be worse for him, she supposed, as he knew only too well what all the possible outcomes were in full detail.

She refused to leave Luke's side other than to go to the loo, or to grab a quick cup of tea and a sandwich. She didn't want to eat, but Martin and Joan told her that she had to keep her strength up for Luke's sake, so she did try to eat, but it might as well have been cardboard for all she tasted of it. Most of the time, she sat stroking Luke's head and holding his hand, willing him to get better.

**xXx**

Martin knew that everyone believed that he'd never wanted their baby, and that he was a somewhat reluctant father. He supposed that he couldn't blame people for thinking that really, because there were elements of truth in it. If Louisa had come to him when she had very first found out that she was pregnant, he would have advised her to at least consider having an abortion initially, it would have been logical, considering their circumstances at the time. However, he would never have pressured her to have a termination, he would have completely respected and supported her wish to continue with the pregnancy, whatever people might think.

But he'd loved Luke instantly when he'd held him for the first time, and now he loved him more and more every day. In his mind he raged at some unknown God:

_Why are you doing this? Are you trying to punish me for not wanting him? Then don't punish him, he's just an innocent little boy, he doesn't deserve this. I'm just getting to grips with being his father, letting myself love him and now you do this. Is it because I've taken him for granted, taken the way that he just gives me his love for granted? Is it because I don't deserve to have him? How is Louisa ever going to get over this if he doesn't make it, or Joan? What have they done to deserve this?_

**xXx**

Joan looked first at Martin, then at Louisa. They were both in a state of shock, this had all happened so quickly. It didn't matter that the doctors told them that they had done all the right things – noticed his symptoms early on, given him the antibiotics straight away, got him to hospital so quickly – none of it mattered if he didn't get better. Luke was _the_ most important thing in Joan's life now. He'd brought pure unadulterated joy to her, given her a reason to get up in the morning, made her feel needed and useful when she looked after him, which she happily did at any time, she'd cancel anything to spend time with her beloved grandchild – that's what he was as far as she was concerned, and she knew that Martin and Louisa thought the same. Looking again at the pair of them, she wondered how their marriage would stand up if anything happened to this little boy – Martin was finally learning to let go and show his feelings, letting himself love and be loved. She knew, that if the worst happened, Martin would most likely just shut down again.

**xXx**

The doctors called a meeting with Martin, Louisa and Joan. Luke had been in intensive care for 48 hours now, with very little change in his condition.

"We would have expected to have seen an improvement by now, in all honesty. The longer he goes on not responding to treatment, the worse the outlook is I'm afraid. I'm very sorry, but I think that you should prepare yourselves for the worst."

Louisa was paralysed with fear, she felt as if she was stuck in some sort of nightmare that she would wake up from at any minute. She just gripped Martin's hand, unable to speak.

Martin felt like shouting at them '_THERE__MUST__BE__SOMETHING__ELSE__WE__CAN__DO'_ but in all honesty he knew that they were doing absolutely everything that was possible.

Joan felt her life draining away from her, just as Luke's seemed to be – life wouldn't be worth living without him. Of all the bad things that had happened in her life, this was by far, far the worst.

**xXx**

Louisa was in a chair next to Luke's bed, having fallen asleep draped on the bed, holding his hand. She hadn't slept in nearly three days, but still refused to leave the hospital. Martin was in a chair on the other side of the bed, fitfully dozing, also refusing to leave the hospital. Joan had reluctantly popped back to get some fresh clothes for Martin and Louisa, torn because she felt unable to watch Luke slip away, but not wanting to leave him either.

**xXx**

Louisa thought that she must be dreaming, or hallucinating anyway. She could hear a baby, and he sounded just like Luke, so she forced her eyes open, and was shocked because it _was_ Luke. He had finally opened his eyes, and was whimpering a little bit.

"_MARTIN_….Martin….." she called out in a croaky voice "It's Luke, look."

"What, where…" Martin came to, startled.

They both leant over their son, and saw that he was finally awake.

Staff came running in, checking monitors, calling in more doctors.

"Does this mean…" Louisa hardly dared to ask.

"It's a good sign," Martin told her, hardly daring to hope either.

Over the next few days, finally Luke gradually improved. Tests on him seemed to show that he had not suffered any lasting damage, although he would need to be monitored over the course of the next few months to be sure. He was moved from intensive care, to high dependency, to the normal children's ward, and then finally allowed home.

They knew how lucky they were, how very close they had come to losing their boy. Not everyone has a happy ending when their child is so ill.

"I think it's fair to say that the pre-emptive antibiotics that you gave to your son initially almost certainly saved his life, Doctor Ellingham. It was a good job that you were so nearby, otherwise I'm pretty certain that we would have had a very different outcome," the consultant paediatrician told Martin and Louisa as they gratefully took Luke home.

**xXx**

"I've made up my mind about my job," Martin told Louisa as they hugged in relief as they looked down at Luke asleep in his cot, in his room, finally at home.

"Really? I wouldn't have thought you'd had time to think about it." Louisa looked at him in surprise.

"I don't need to think about it. Basically Luke would have died if a doctor, who happened to be me, hadn't been here, in the village to give him the antibiotics. Next time it will be another child, someone else's son or daughter that will need the doctor to be close by. I can't be that doctor if I'm in Truro playing at being a surgeon half the week. I've _been_ a surgeon, now I'm a GP, and I want to be the best one that I can. So, I'm going to remain at the surgery full time. It'll also mean that I can still be close to you both, my family, and that we can spend more time together. I'm just going to take on the scaled down proposed surgery, for a session or two a week at my practice, but no more than that." Martin tried to explain to Louisa how he'd reached his decision.

"That sounds just perfect to me," said Louisa, as she leant against him, so happy, relieved and incredibly grateful to be back at home with the two most precious people in her life.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Count Your Blessings - Chapter 8**

When Luke first came home from hospital, Louisa couldn't bear to be parted from him, and didn't want to let him out of her sight. She kept asking Martin if he was sure that Luke was alright. The first night she woke up in a cold sweat from a nightmare where she was reliving again and again everything that had happened. She jumped up and rushed into Luke's room to check that he was alright – she'd really wanted to put his cot in their room, but accepted that it was sensible to get him back into his normal routine as much as possible. Martin, woken up by Louisa's sudden actions, followed her into Luke's room, and saw her leaning over him, feeling his forehead and trying to see if he was breathing normally.

"Does he seem alright to you Martin?" she asked anxiously.

Martin quickly checked him as he lay fast asleep.

"He's fine, Louisa, just fine. Come on now, you'll end up waking him for no good reason, come back to bed," Martin tried to reassure her. He could see that she was shaking and tearful.

"Oh Martin it was so awful, I was dreaming that I was at the hospital again, dozing on Luke's bed, and I could hear him crying, but when I opened my eyes he wasn't there, just an empty bed, so I tried to find him but I couldn't, but I could still hear him, and I searched everywhere for him...then I woke up in our bed at home, but I wasn't sure which was the reality and which was the dream, so I had to come and look at him and touch him..."

At this point she burst into tears as Martin took her in his arms and held her tightly, cradling her head against his chest with his hand.

"It's alright, everything's alright, it was just a dream, Luke's fine. Come on, come back to bed now," Martin tried to comfort her as he led her back to their room. In bed, Louisa stayed in his arms, gradually calming down and going back to sleep fitfully – she was exhausted and really needed to sleep properly.

She woke up with a start early the next morning, to find that Martin wasn't in their bed, so she jumped up, rushed into Luke's room, and saw Martin holding him very closely, looking out of the window with him, Luke nestled against his Daddy's chest while holding his favourite soft little teddy bear under his arm, and with Martin kissing the little boy's blonde head.

They both looked up at Louisa as she came in, and she felt her heart warm to see them so close together, looking at her with the same blue eyes.

"You needed to sleep, so I thought I'd get him up," Martin told her, not making any effort to hand Luke over as he normally did. "And before you ask, he's absolutely fine, so go back to bed for a while."

Louisa smiled, went over to kiss them both, then did as she was told and went back to bed for a while, knowing that Luke could not be in any safer hands.

**xXx**

Coming so very close to losing his boy had made Martin re-assess just what he wanted from his life. He realised just how near he had come, yet again, to immersing himself in his medical career at the expense of everything else. Joan had been right, as usual, when she'd warned him about spreading himself too thinly if he tried to be a GP in Portwenn and a surgeon in Truro, and that it would at the expense of time with his family. It was true, he'd been the happiest that he had ever been in recent months, and now he couldn't believe that it had taken the horrendous shock of seeing Luke so desperately ill, and very nearly losing him, to make him realise that sometimes you don't know what you have until it's gone – well luckily in this case he'd been given another chance before it was too late. He'd truly feared that he wouldn't see that gorgeous, cheeky, smiling little face again, so happy to see him as he crawled into the forbidden area of Martin's study – Martin felt incredibly bad because he always acted as if Luke was being a nuisance. He still felt guilty, and probably would until his dying day, wondering if he should have noticed that Luke wasn't well that morning before he'd rushed off, preoccupied as usual with work matters.

Martin was normally first up in the mornings, but pretty much always left Luke's care to Louisa. Martin now decided that he would get Luke up in the mornings if he was at home, making the excuse that he was keeping an eye on him, checking him over, which was true, but also meaning that he would get to spend more time with his son. He'd already spoken to Chris Parsons, and told him that he didn't wish to pursue any of the openings for surgery in Truro, and that he wanted to scale back the proposal for surgery at his practice to enable it to go ahead. Chris completely understood, being a father himself and having seen what Martin and Louisa had been through. After all, part of the reason Chris had taken the more administrative role of Chief Executive of the PCT was that the job fitted around family life more easily.

When Martin returned to work, Pauline noticed a change – to her pay packet. When they'd left in the ambulance with Luke, he'd shouted out over his shoulder to Pauline '_just_ _take__care__of__things__for__now'_ - and she had. Apart from thinking to phone Joan to let her know what had happened, Pauline also stepped up and took over everything at the surgery. She cancelled appointments, advised the 'On Call' team that Martin would not be available until further notice, she liaised with the Wadebridge surgery so that they would take any of Martin's patients who needed to be seen urgently until a locum could be arranged should that prove necessary, and she even persuaded a local minicab company to offer special group rates over to Wadebridge.

When Luke had finally started to recover and was moved out of intensive care, Martin had felt that he could take some time out to call into his practice to see what chaos had ensued. What he found pleasantly surprised him – everything had been taken care of. Of course, all the villagers were fully sympathetic as to why their Doc wasn't around, they were deeply shocked by what had happened, they all thought Luke to be the dearest little boy. So there was no grumbling about having to travel further to see a Doc.

"You've made a mistake with my pay packet," Pauline told Martin. "Must be the shock of everything, affected your brain, you poor thing."

"There's no mistake. It's correct. It was simply time to review your remuneration, that's all," Martin told her as he sorted through some paperwork on his return. "You'll be taking on extra tasks in any case when I start the new minor surgical procedures, so don't come whining to me expecting another rise then."

"Wow. More money – I could buy that top I saw the other day, the one with the sparkly straps…..ooh, or those great shoes I saw with the 4 inch heels…." Pauline dreamily thought of all the exciting 'stuff' she could afford now.

"God forbid you'd ever dream of using the extra money for something vaguely sensible, like saving up for a deposit for a flat, instead of spending it on those fancy dress outfits that you seem to consider suitable work attire," Martin said acidly.

Pauline took no notice, she was already on the computer, trying to decide whether to log on to the Top Shop or ASOS websites to see what cool clothes she could order, ignoring Martin when he shouted out to her,

"And do that in your own time, it's certainly not what I'm paying you for."

**xXx**

Easter had come and gone while Luke was in hospital, it hadn't really even registered with Martin and Louisa. The end of the school holidays came just as Luke left hospital, but Louisa didn't return to work straight away, she wanted to stay at home with Luke to be certain that he was fully recovered. The Board of Governors were very understanding, telling her to take however much time she needed, her deputy could manage for a while.

She kept asking Martin for reassurance that Luke was alright, couldn't he just check him over again even though she knew that he'd checked him first thing that the morning. Luke had so far shown every sign of being a very bright child, passing all his milestones to date at an early age, and now Louisa fretted that maybe he'd been affected by his illness. Her whole world had fallen apart when she'd thought that she was going to lose Luke. The affect on Louisa was that the nightmares didn't stop. Every night the pattern would repeat itself. She went to bed, calmly trying to collect her thoughts, to be positive, to be happy, to be thankful that Luke was fit and well, fast asleep in the next room in his cot – he had more or less settled back into his usual routine, and seemed to be pretty much back to his normal self. She would go to sleep, but after a couple of hours, she would wake up again in a cold panic, crying. She would then rush into Luke's room to reassure herself that he was there, and that he was fine. Her heart would be pounding and her hands shaking. It would take several minutes for her to calm down enough to be able to return to bed and to collapse there exhausted. Martin was patience itself, but he was very worried about her, and by the end of the first week decided that something more had to be done to try to help her.

"Can't you give her some sleeping pills, just to break the cycle so that the poor girl can get some proper sleep? She looks _dreadful_ Martin, and I hope she's not even thinking about going back to work yet, you'll have to put your foot down if she is," Joan told Martin as they were discussing things when she called in one evening – Louisa was having a nice long relaxing bath to try to help her wind down before bed.

"I'm never keen to start anyone on sleeping pills, they aren't really the solution, and they can cause other problems in the long run in any case," Martin replied.

"Well she can't go on like this, so just what are you going to do?" Joan persisted.

"I've already spoken to Doctor Milligan actually, psychological trauma is much more his field of expertise than mine. He assures me that it's still early days yet, and that it's not unusual for these symptoms to carry on for a month or so. However, he's offered to see her, make a home visit if necessary, but I'm just not sure how I'm going to get Louisa to agree to it. You know how difficult she can be about accepting that she needs help with anything, she always has to be so bloody independent," Martin replied with some frustration.

"Just tell her that she has to Martin. You're the doctor after all," Joan told him firmly.

"Hmmm, yes, I know," replied Martin, thinking that this was easier said than done with Louisa sometimes.

**xXx**

However, when, despite all her efforts at relaxing before going to bed and being positive about everything failed to prevent the nightmares returning yet again , Martin took matters into his own hands.

"Louisa, I'm going to arrange for you to see Doctor Milligan, to see what he can suggest to help you through this, because you need more help than I can give you," Martin told her . He was also feeling pretty exhausted with every night being disturbed and being at work during the day. He wouldn't agree to go back onto the 'on call' rota until Louisa was better. He found though that he didn't actually mind that she needed his reassurance and support a lot more than before, in fact he found that he rather liked being needed so much. However, he was used to Louisa being a strong, independent and confident woman, so it did worry him to find her so different.

To his surprise, Louisa meekly agreed.

"Whatever you think best Martin. I can't take much more of this, so if you think he can help, I suppose I could see him," she quietly told him.

Martin spoke to Doctor Milligan the following morning.

"Things are no better since we last spoke, my wife is still having flashbacks and nightmares every night. She is also hyper vigilant concerning our son's welfare," Martin told him. He had initially spoken to Doctor Milligan after Louisa's second disturbed night, explaining everything that had happened with Luke to him then.

"I see. And her fears are unfounded, your little boy is well I hope?" Doctor Milligan asked.

"Yes, he's doing really well I'm thankful to say, so she has no actual cause to worry, and she seems to accept that on the surface but..." Martin told him.

"And they're still the same flashbacks, of the events in hospital?" Doctor Milligan asked.

"Yes."

"And tell me, is there anything in her past history that you are aware of, that could have any bearing on her current state of mind? Did she have a normal, stable childhood?" Doctor Milligan asked.

"God no, anything but. Mother walked out on the family when Louisa was about eight, taking the younger brother with her, who subsequently died of a drugs overdose. Her Father was an unreliable gambler who ended up in prison. She's always had to look after herself, she's always been so strong, self reliant and able to cope with whatever life has thrown at her. That's why I'm so worried because frankly this just isn't like her at all."

"I see. And am I correct in assuming that your relationship with Louisa hasn't always run smoothly? I'm only asking because all of these factors will have a bearing on her current frame of mind, Martin," Doctor Milligan explained, sensing that he would be reluctant to discuss his role in all this.

"Well I suppose you could say that. Yes. But things are fine now," was all that Martin said.

"Look, the more that you can tell me, the less I will have to try to glean from your wife Martin. It's all necessary preparation for assessing how best to help her. So, can you expand a little for me?" Doctor Milligan pressed Martin.

"We've known each other for some years now, had several failed attempts at starting a relationship, finally got engaged, set a wedding date, but both called it off at the last minute. Louisa left the village to work in London, returning when she was six months pregnant with our child, adamant that she would manage on her own, because she mistakenly thought that I was in a new relationship. We only got together when Luke was born, lived together for a while and got married just before Christmas." Martin exhaled as he finished speaking. That had better be enough detail, he really wasn't prepared to drag up any more of the past.

'_Little__wonder__they've__both__had__problems,'_thought Doctor Milligan to himself.

"Right well, as I explained to you before, I do occasionally make house calls and that may well be the most effective way for me to assess your wife, she will hopefully be more relaxed in the security her own surroundings. As it happens I am over your way for a meeting this evening, so I could call in at around, say, 7.00pm, if that suits at all?"

Doctor Milligan found Martin fascinating, and was very curious to meet his wife and see them both in their home. He did also feel that it really would be better for Louisa to see him sooner than later, and anyway, he could simply put an extra charge on his bill for a home visit.

"Yes that would be fine," Martin replied, pleased to think that maybe something could be set in motion that could help Louisa.

**xXx**

Martin opened the front door to let Doctor Milligan in that evening as arranged. As he came in, he looked around and saw that the rather lovely house was tastefully furnished but in a quite relaxed way, and he thought that that was probably Louisa's influence on the rather formal Martin that he knew.

Martin showed him into their lounge where Louisa was sitting waiting quietly, cuddling Luke and reading a book to him, which young as he was, he loved. There were lots of photos of Luke around, she always took pictures of him at every stage. Doctor Milligan was struck by how beautiful Louisa was, but when he looked closely at her, it was obvious that she was exhausted. She had dark circles under her eyes, and was very pale. After the initial introductions were done, Martin said,

"I'll take Luke and put him to bed now Louisa," as he took him from her after she'd tenderly kissed and hugged her baby boy. However, Martin couldn't help himself, he listened for a few minutes outside the door, until Luke began to get bored and fidget. So he heard the first part of what Doctor Milligan said.

"Now Louisa, Martin has told me something of the difficulties you are having, and firstly I want to reassure you that it is not at all uncommon after a psychological trauma such as you have experienced with your baby's illness to suffer from flashbacks and nightmares in the first few days and weeks afterwards. These things do usually sort themselves out in time, but hopefully we can speed that healing process up for you. I need you to explain to me exactly what happens in your nightmares, we will then work out some techniques to enable you to actually change the ending of these nightmares, so that they are no longer upsetting..."

**xXx**

One morning Martin opened his eyes to see Louisa watching him, propped up on her elbow with a gentle smile hovering around her lips.

"What's the matter, are you alright?" he asked her anxiously.

"I'm fine, really good actually Martin," Louisa replied, smiling more widely now.

Louisa had had some sessions with Doctor Milligan, and had finally had some nights of uninterrupted sleep.

"No more nightmares?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"Thank you," she told him as she continued to look at him.

"What for?" Martin asked.

"For being my rock. My solid, dependable, reliable rock. You've never once told me to pull myself together or to just snap out of it, you've just always been there when I need you, even when it's 2am in the morning. And you're helping so much more with Luke too."

She leant over to kiss him tenderly on the cheek.

"Hmm, well that's what you're supposed to do isn't it? You know, being married and all that..." Martin said gruffly.

"I...I've always told myself that I can manage on my own, that I don't really need anyone, but the truth is Martin, I can't manage without out you now, do you know that?" Louisa kissed him tenderly again, this time on the other cheek. "And Luke can't manage without you either, you saved his life after all."

"I was just doing my job," he replied modestly.

Martin felt that up until now, there'd still been a little part of Louisa that shut him out to some extent, probably as a method of self protection. So recently, although he'd been worried about Louisa, he'd been pleased that she felt able to lean on him, and rely on him to help her through her trauma. He'd also found that he really enjoyed taking over some of Luke's care, whereas before he'd left it mostly to Louisa.

"Your Doctor Milligan is pretty good, isn't he?" Louisa said, conveniently forgetting that Edith originally suggested him to Martin.

"I suppose you could say that he's reasonably adequate in his field," Martin replied, also conveniently forgetting the 'Edith' connection.

"Well he did also suggest that it would be a good idea to have something positive to look forward to, and I was wondering...about getting Luke christened ...what do you think Martin?"

"Christened? I don't know really. Wouldn't that mean going back to the church where we..." Martin said hesitantly.

"Where we almost got married, you mean? Look, I know that neither of us is really what you would call religious, but I think that it would be a lovely way for us to celebrate the fact that our Luke has come through safely and to give us some closure on the whole horrible frightening episode. And we can face up to our demons by going back to into that church for a very happy occasion - I think there's a new vicar there anyhow. Everyone in the village has been incredibly supportive to us both recently, even you can't deny that, so wouldn't it be nice if we were to hold a little Christening party to say thank you? A lot of them are still rather miffed that we 'sneaked off' to get married and didn't have any kind of celebration with them."

"I don't know Louisa, maybe it would be a good idea to have Luke christened, but you know I'm not exactly a party person," Martin said reluctantly.

"Maybe you could just think about it, hmmm?" Louisa kissed him again, this time slowly on his lips, lingering enticingly. The effect of this was that Martin reached over and pulled her on top of him, deepening the kiss and running his hands under the camisole top she was wearing, to try to remove it. Thrilled by his response, Louisa started to pull her top off, only for them to be disturbed by the unmistakable sound of their son waking up in his room next door.

They looked at each other and smiled – neither was complaining about being disturbed by Luke – it was music to their ears after the events of recent weeks.

"To be continued at a later date?" Louisa suggested to Martin with a big smile.

"Oh yes, that's a promise for sure," replied Martin, smiling back at her, as he got up to go to Luke.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**What's in a Name - Chapter 9**

"I really can't believe that I let you talk me into this Louisa," grumbled Martin. "You caught me at a weak moment."

"Nothing 'weak' about it as I recall, Martin, in fact I'd say that you were... pretty masterful that night," Louisa teased him.

Martin scowled as he looked at her.

"You had an unfair advantage. You know I'm not very good at ...well...resisting...especially...I'm still not really used to the ways of women."

"Women! How many of us did it take Martin?" Louisa continued to tease him.

The truth was that at the particular time that Louisa had managed to get Martin to agree to hold a Christening party in their garden, he would probably have agreed to fly to the moon if she had so requested. After so many years as a bachelor, Martin was blissfully happy to have such a wonderful love life, but now felt that he had been somewhat exploited.

"Oh come on, it's going to be fun, a lovely occasion, don't be such an old misery, you'll enjoy it," Louisa tried to chivvy him.

"Hmmm." Martin wasn't convinced.

**xXx**

"It's no good grumbling to me, Martin, because I think a Christening party is a wonderful idea, although I must say I'm still amazed that Louisa managed to get you to agree. Used her 'feminine charms' on you did she? Well good for her, I'm all for a celebration however she managed to achieve it, about time you loosened up a bit, became a member of the normal human race once in a while, instead of being such a reclusive, stuffy, old stick in the mud."

This was Joan's response to Martin when he was complaining to her about having the party. Louisa was attending a parents evening at her school, so Joan had come round to babysit because Martin was back on the 'on call' rota for the evening.

"Auntie Joan, really, I don't know what you mean about 'feminine charms'," Martin replied, embarrassed.

"Oh don't be so obtuse, you know perfectly well what I mean – you weren't thinking with your brain when she got you to agree, were you? No doubt another part of your anatomy was in control. Clever girl, I like her style if that's what it takes to get you to agree."

Joan smiled happily at the thought of showing off Luke to all her friends at the party.

Martin realised that he was fighting a losing battle talking to Joan, so he gave up and retreated into his study.

**xXx**

Martin had just about agreed to the idea of Luke being Christened, he thought that that was acceptable, but initially he refused to even consider the idea of a party at all. He'd been horrified at Louisa's first suggestion that they hold one in Bert's restaurant. They might have called their original wedding off, but he gathered that Bert had made a right hash of all the reception arrangements in any case.

"Bert's heart is in the right place, Martin, he means well. Do you know that he's just held a fund raising evening in aid of the Meningitis Research Foundation because he was very upset about Luke being so ill? He's very fond of Luke you know," Louisa explained to Martin.

"Oh I do so love that expression 'he means well', it usually describes someone who's a complete moronic simpleton, oh but it's alright because 'he means well'," Martin replied sarcastically.

"You're being really horrid Martin," Louisa told him sharply.

"Just because I have to deal with these people every day in my job doesn't mean to say that I want to have anything to do with them at any other time," Martin continued in the same miserable vein.

"Well 'these people' have been very good to us lately, no one complained when your surgery was closed and they had to go all the way to Wadebridge to see a doctor, and no one complained about the time I took off from work and the fact that I postponed parents evening. Everyone was genuinely concerned for Luke, so I don't think you should act so high and mighty about 'these people' Martin," Louisa lectured him, feeling rather cross with his attitude.

"Hmmm. They're still very annoying though," Martin muttered.

**xXx**

Louisa wasn't going to give up easily with her plans.

She discussed her ideas one Saturday morning with Jenny Parsons when they'd gone for a brisk walk together along the coastal path to help keep them fit, Louisa pushing Luke in his buggy, which he always enjoyed. Jenny's boys were at their football training, which Chris had taken them to.

"Well if Martin is so against using Bert's restaurant, how about having it at home? You could have a marquee in your garden, it's plenty big enough after all, and then people wouldn't need go into your house, which might just be acceptable to Martin. I know this brilliant company who could organise it all, you could have a look at their website," Jenny suggested.

"That could work, it sounds pretty good actually. I'll just have to keep working on Martin won't I, or we'll never have any kind of social life at home. We'd be hermits if he had his way," Louisa said defiantly.

**xXx**

Ever since the Charity Ball before Christmas, Louisa knew that Martin had a weakness that she could exploit. She hadn't done so though, because she knew that it was a very fine line to tread. Martin was nobody's fool and he would be furious if he felt that she was using or misleading him in any way. However she also knew that although initially he hadn't wanted to go to the ball, he'd ended up really quite enjoying it, so much so that he had already bought tickets for the Midsummer Ball that was held in June. So she felt that if she could persuade him to have this party at their home, it went well and he actually enjoyed it, it might mean that he would agree to such occasions again in the future. She didn't want Luke growing up as a social recluse after all. They had a lovely big house and garden that was just perfect for what she now had in mind for Luke's Christening party – if she could only get Martin to see reason.

**xXx**

Louisa didn't explain in detail to Joan why she wanted an evening alone with Martin, when he was not on call, and with no interruptions from Luke, but in any case Joan was always more than happy to have Luke to stay for the night, so she didn't ask too many questions, simply assuming that Louisa was planning a nice romantic evening with Martin. Joan was all for this, a healthy love life meant a healthy marriage in her book.

"We need to discuss all the possibilities for Luke's Christening party you see," Louisa said to Joan. She'd told her about the garden party that she was hoping to arrange and Joan thought that it was a brilliant idea, so she was more than happy to help as much as possible.

"Well, good luck with your 'discussions' my dear, because I think you'll have your work cut out getting Martin to agree to it, you know how he hates any kind of party or social gathering," Joan told her.

"Hmm, we'll see," Louisa replied with a cheeky little grin and a raise of her eyebrows.

'_Oh,__like__that__it__is__it,'_Joan thought to herself happily. '_Martin's__not__going__to__know__what's__hit__him__by__the__look__on__her__face'._

**xXx**

Martin was very happy that he and Louisa were spending a quiet night in together, this was his idea of a perfect evening. Louisa had made an effort to look nice, she was wearing a red silky dress that was impractical when looking after an active, messy baby who dribbled a lot, but was perfect for a romantic evening as it had buttons down the front that undid very easily. Her hair was piled up on top of her head in a messy updo. As they were preparing their meal together in the kitchen, Louisa reached up and kissed him gently on his cheek saying,

"This is nice, isn't it? Just the two of us, with no interruptions for a whole evening ...and night."

"Yes, it's very nice," Martin replied, pulling her to him for another kiss, while running his hands over her waist, hips and down her legs. His hand stopped as he felt something through her dress – he realised that she was wearing stockings and suspenders. He felt his heart lurch in anticipation and he had to stop himself from groaning out loud. Louisa didn't say anything, but carried on with their meal preparations. She knew very well just what effect she was having on Martin, and it thrilled her to have such a hold over her gruff husband. Sometimes, when she looked at him across a room, being the very serious, dour, professional doctor, she would smile a little secret smile to herself knowing how easily she could seduce him and just what went on between them in the bedroom. But then she also knew that he had only to look at her in a certain way or sometimes just touch or kiss her and she was unable to resist him – hence the rather naughty episode on the kitchen table.

"So, umm...is this a special occasion?" Martin asked, once they sat down to eat, worried that he had forgotten something. Louisa hadn't worn stockings since Christmas, they were for very special occasions only, as far as he understood these things.

"I just thought that we should try to make the effort now and again to be romantic, it's easy to forget when you're both working and looking after a baby, and then with all the drama recently, I just thought it would be nice for us to. have some time alone together," Louisa explained innocently.

"Hmm well I suppose when you put it like that..." Martin replied, unable to really concentrate on what she was saying with the pictures that were popping into his head.

"Look, about Luke's Christening party, I think you're absolutely right, Bert's wouldn't be the place to hold it, I completely agree with you," Louisa told him.

"Glad you've ...umm ...you've seen sense," Martin replied absent mindedly.

"So I thought, maybe we could just have a small gathering in our garden, it's pretty big after all, people wouldn't even need to come into the house, they could just use the loo at the back of the kitchen. Jenny knows this firm that take care of all the arrangements for you, so it wouldn't even be any bother really," Louisa suggested.

"Well, I don't know, I suppose.. it ummm... it...might.. work." Martin was watching Louisa as she crossed her legs, giving him just a glimpse of her stocking top.

"So, if you think it's a good idea Martin, I could get the company to give us a quote," Louisa said, running her hand up her thigh slowly.

"I err... don't suppose there would be any harm in that," Martin replied distractedly.

"But you do agree that it's a good idea Martin?" Louisa wanted him to definitely agree.

"Umm yes, yes... it is really ...I ..err...suppose." He couldn't take his eyes off her legs as she now uncrossed them.

"OK, well I'll contact them to see what we can arrange for the dates that the vicar said were available to have Luke Christened," Louisa said, inwardly sighing with relief. Now she could relax and simply have fun. She didn't feel too bad for distracting Martin in order to get her own way. It was for his own good, he needed to improve his social skills, join in more, and he would enjoy the party once it was happening, she was sure - well, she hoped so anyway.

Once they'd finished their meal, they headed straight for their bedroom, leaving the dishes to be done later for once. Louisa had a full length cheval mirror in the room, and Martin watched her in the reflection as he unbuttoned her dress, finding it delightfully easy to remove, allowing him to appreciate in full her beautiful, elegant lingerie. Louisa returned the favour and helped Martin to remove his clothes too. He found it extremely erotic to watch their actions in the mirror. He stood behind her, kissing her exposed neck, and ears, while running his hands slowly over her body, still watching in the mirror over her shoulder. He saw her close her eyes at his actions and shudder in delight and anticipation. She could feel his arousal pressing hard against her back, as she let him decide what would happen next.

She'd enticed him, but now he wanted to be in command, to take things slowly, his way, his choice. He removed the last articles of her clothing, and gently pulled her onto their bed, making sure that they could both still watch in the mirror as he started to make love to her, kissing her, caressing her, gently, slowly, sensually, teasing her until Louisa was aching for him and begged him '_Martin..__please...__I__really__need__you__now.'_ Then he finally acquiesced, he was more than ready to comply with her demand as they became as one.

Afterwards, as they lay together in bed, Louisa with a lazy, satisfied smile, he mused to himself that logically he didn't really understand what the allure of stockings were, but without a shadow of a doubt they had an incredibly powerful effect on him.

It was really only the next morning, as they had to face clearing up in the kitchen that Martin recalled some of the previous evening's conversation, and it dawned on him that maybe he had agreed to something that he might not have done had he been less distracted. He also knew for certain that there was no way that Louisa was going to let him backtrack on what he had agreed to.

**xXx**

"Don't forget that you're looking after Luke while I go to the hairdressers tomorrow," Louisa reminded Martin, the week before the Christening as they were in their bedroom getting ready for work.

"Hairdressers – why, what are you having done?" Martin asked Louisa.

"I want a change, I've had my hair like this for so long, I think it's time for a completely new image, a different style in time for Luke's Christening, to go with the new outfit I've bought," Louisa replied as she brushed her hair, looking in the mirror in their bedroom. She and Jenny had spent a lovely girly day shopping for their new outfits and she had finally chosen a gorgeous new dress in a beautiful shade of blue that showed of her tiny waist to perfection.

"What kind of new style?" Martin asked, alarmed.

"I thought maybe a bob, you know, to about here," she demonstrated with her hands where her hair would be cut to. "So much easier to look after as well as being something different, and Jenny thinks it will really suit me."

"You _can't_! That is I mean, _don't_. Please." Martin had learnt the hard way that if he told Louisa not to do something, chances are it made her more determined to do it.

"What do you mean? Is there some medical reason why I shouldn't have my hair cut or something?" Louisa asked him puzzled.

"No, no, I would just prefer it if you didn't, that's all." Compliments never came easily to Martin, even for Louisa.

"To be honest Martin I didn't think you'd even notice if I had it cut," she told him.

"Don't be ridiculous, of course I'd notice. I like your hair as it is and I would really prefer you not to have it cut. So please don't," Martin replied.

He loved Louisa's long hair, although he'd never actually told her so. He loved the way that her usual pony tail style swung as she walked along. He loved it when she piled her hair up on top of her head leaving her neck exposed, tempting him to kiss her there. He loved it when she wore her hair just loose and natural. He loved it when she wore it with the sides up and the back loose. Never having had a sister or mixed with any girls at school or at any other time in his life - even Edith had had short hair, it was all new to him, and he was fascinated to see how Louisa could quickly put her hair up without even looking in the mirror. Now he was horrified at the thought that she was going to have it all cut off.

Louisa looked at him in surprise.

"Is that...is that almost a compliment from you – _'you__like__my__hair'_?" she asked him.

He felt very strongly about wanting Louisa to keep her hair long, and so he forced himself to say,

"Look I'm not very good at saying these things Louisa, as you well know, but I'm asking you not to have your hair cut, I...I...really like it how it is...I've always liked it actually, and if you have it cut, I'd be...upset," he tried to explain sheepishly, feeling very embarrassed.

Louisa stared at him. "Go on then, surpass yourself, pay me a proper compliment, I dare you!"

She was pushing him she knew, but for God's sake, they made uninhibited, passionate love together, yet he was struggling to utter a few simple words to pay her a compliment because he felt shy – it didn't make any sense to her.

Martin glared at her, took a deep breath and said, "You have beautiful hair, Louisa, it's a lovely colour and I really like it long. There, will that do?"

"Mmm. We'll see. I still fancy a change." Louisa wasn't going to give in to his opinion that easily if he struggled so much to give her a simple compliment.

However, Louisa returned from the hairdressers still sporting her trademark long hair, much to Martin's relief, having just had a trim with some shaping and layers added to the front, so he supposed that the hard won compliment must have done the trick.

**xXx**

The Sunday of Luke's Christening arrived. Louisa had been worried all week because the weather was unsettled – it was May, so the weather could be lovely and warm, or it could be cold and wet. The events company that was organising everything assured her that it wouldn't matter about the weather, they had special heaters, flooring, etc, but Louisa knew that it would be so much nicer if the weather was at least dry. She had done her best to ensure that everything was running smoothly without bothering Martin too much – she wanted him to think it was all very easy and straight forward. He was still being pretty grumpy about it all, but had realised that he had little option but to go along with it, even though Louisa's original suggestion of 'a small gathering in the garden' had somehow morphed into Portwenn's social event of the year.

The Godparents were going to be Chris and Jenny Parsons, they were an obvious choice as they were good friends of Martin as well as Louisa, and then because a boy is meant to have two Godfathers, they asked Roger Fenn to be the other Godfather. He'd been very good to Louisa both as her stand in father for her non wedding, then as a support when the wedding didn't take place. They hadn't seen so much of him lately because he had taken a job at a school in Truro as a part time music teacher – having twins to support had meant that the pension that Martin had helped Roger to claim wasn't really enough of an income, and in any case he was really a bit too young to be retired, and grumpy sod that he could be, he loved teaching music to the children. Louisa had happily given him an excellent reference when he had applied for the post.

Luke's Christening was being held at St. Roger's Parish Church. Reverend Counter had retired, he never came back after his stint in hospital following his fall, and there were rumours that he had been in a clinic to 'dry out' as part of his convalescence.

The new vicar was a female – much to some parishioners disquiet.

"Where do they think we are – Dibley, in some wretched TV sitcom?" said Colonel Gilbert Spencer in disgust. He was a traditionalist of the old school who still believed that women should not be allowed to be priests.

However most of the congregation found Felicity Paterson to be a breath of much needed fresh air. She happily agreed to Luke being christened in her church even though Martin and Louisa were not regular worshippers.

"We believe that God's love should be available to everyone. I will include the Christening during our main Sunday service so that your son can be welcomed into the family of the church," she explained when they called into her office to discuss the arrangements. It had been very weird for both of them to go there, neither had been near the church since the non wedding.

"There won't be any of that modern, happy clappy, mumbo jumbo rubbish, will there?" Martin quizzed her – he couldn't think of anything more embarrassing if there was. He'd been an unwilling participant in this meeting, only attending because the vicar had insisted that she needed to see to both parents. He'd happily have welcomed being called out instead, but his phone had stayed disappointingly quiet for once.

Louisa shot him a mortified look, and kicked him under the desk.

Felicity had heard about Doctor Ellingham's reputation from the villagers, not having had occasion to visit him herself as yet. She managed a little laugh as she explained to them both,

"It will be just our normal traditional service, which will include your son's Christening. This will take place at the font at the back of the church. I will pour water on your child's head as a sign of him being washed clean of sin and beginning a new life with God. I will make the sign of the cross on his forehead which will be like an invisible badge that he will wear for the rest of his life to protect him from the world of darkness. A large candle will be lit to signify the light which has come into his life now, and the congregation will promise to support you and your child in rejecting the path of darkness and evil."

"That sounds really beautiful, doesn't it Martin?" Louisa said to Martin, imploring him with her eyes to agree with her.

"Mmm. I suppose, if you believe in that sort of thing," was the best that Martin could come up with. As a man of science, it still sounded like mumbo jumbo to him, but if that was what Louisa wanted, it couldn't do any harm, he supposed.

**xXx**

Luke was far too big to wear the tiny traditional Christening gown that Joan had inherited from her mother but had never had occasion to use. At the time when Luke would have been small enough to have fitted in to it, Martin and Louisa were only just getting used to living together, and arranging a Christening had been the last thing on their minds. Now Louisa searched for a suitable outfit for Luke, and showed Martin some of the possibilities she had found on line.

"Good God Louisa, you can't seriously be considering putting him in any of those ridiculous outfits, he's a boy, not a doll to be dressed up in something so ludicrous, and don't even _think_ about putting him one of those stupid hats," was his very strong reaction.

Martin was putting his foot down, this was one thing that he was adamant about, he was _NOT_ having his son looking like some nancy boy. Louisa decided that she could humour him on this point as he felt so strongly about it, and she had got her way on just about everything else after all. So she settled for a very simple plain white romper suit with a little bit of blue ribbon around the edges that Martin gave his approval to. As far as Martin was concerned, boys should look like boys, even as babies.

**xXx**

The church was packed. Even those not invited to the Christening were free to attend the service if they chose to, so the vicar was pleasantly surprised by the very large congregation that Sunday. Mrs Tishell was playing the organ as she did every Sunday, come rain or shine.

Martin went along with everything, was just about civil, and pleased to see Louisa and Joan so happy, but as far as he was concerned the sooner they were out of the church, the better. It simply wasn't his kind of thing.

The service went as planned, and Louisa actually found it somewhat uplifting, Felicity was really quite inspiring. Joan cried all the way through, much to her embarrassment. She was normally such a tough old bird, but when it came to anything to do with Luke, she was always highly emotional.

"Luke Martin, I Baptise thee in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen." The vicar poured the water over Luke's head, made the sign of the cross on his forehead, then followed by reciting a prayer.

Louisa had worried that Luke would be miserable and cry during the service as it was at around the time that he normally had his morning nap. However he was happy being held and cuddled by Louisa, Martin or Joan at any time. There were plenty of things for him to look at and watch, and he liked listening to the music and hymns in the service, so he stayed reasonably happy.

That was until this strange person, wearing a horrid, funny smelling, black dress took hold of him and then poured cold water on his head – he didn't like that at all, and cried loudly. To make it worse, everyone seemed to be laughing and smiling, thinking that this was alright, even Mummy! The only person who seemed to understand that this was _not_ alright and wasn't smiling was Daddy, so he held out his arms to him to be held as he cried. Once Daddy held him, Luke felt much happier and soon stopped crying. His Daddy _always_ understood how he felt.

**xXx**

The plan was that after the Christening, they would go home, give Luke his lunch and then put him down for a nap while they got ready for the party.

The events company was already on site with everything in hand when they got back from the church. The weather was cloudy and overcast but dry, much to Louisa's relief. The large marquee was in place on the lawn, the catering company had arrived and were busy laying everything out. Louisa had to try to tactfully explain to Bert why they hadn't used him and Al for the catering.

"Look, this party is our way of saying thank you to everyone in the village, and especially you Bert, for all your help and support recently. So we wanted you to relax and enjoy yourself, not be working hard and worrying about the catering," she'd told him. Bert was a bit miffed still, but free food and booze would certainly go a long way to mollifying him.

"Don't you dare disappear into your study Martin. Everything is taken care of, but I want you to actually show your face and be there when people start arriving," Louisa warned Martin.

"Yes alright, I get the message. Watch as the village idiots turn up to wreck the garden, eat and drink too much at my expense, be nosy, talk drivel, and fawn over each other. Delightful, my idea of heaven," Martin replied sourly. He'd already insisted that the house be out of bounds to their guests, with one or two exceptions such as Chris and Jenny.

Joan had volunteered to look after Luke while Louisa organised things, and he was soon fed and then put for a sleep in his cot. Hopefully he would now be in a reasonable mood later on. Louisa had happily given Joan carte blanche to invite as many of her friends as she wished, so this was an exciting event for Joan, many of her friends had their own grandchildren that Joan had had to watch them with. Now it was her turn to show off her 'grandchild', and she was in seventh heaven about it. For now she busied herself with making sure that all the arrangements were running smoothly, not at all surprised by Martin's decided lack of enthusiasm.

"Careful, the wind'll change and you'll be stuck with that expression," she told him – he looked as if he was sucking lemons. "Don't be such a party pooper, for once in your life let go, relax and enjoy yourself." she told him.

Martin glared at her. "Not my idea of enjoyment," he growled back.

Guests started arriving, Jenny and Chris with their two boys, Roger and Maureen with their twins, Joe Penhale with his girlfriend Emma, Bert, Al and Pauline, Isabel with her little girl Alisha, Mrs Tishell, Sally Chadwick, Stu Mackenzie with his family, other governors and teachers, and many other people that Martin wasn't really sure who they were, even though Louisa had told him. Soon, there were lots of children running around the garden playing hide and seek and shrieking with laughter.

By now, Luke was waking up from his nap, so Joan took great pleasure in getting him up, changing his nappy, and giving him his usual drink to ensure that he was in a good mood before bringing him out to the garden. The little boy was fascinated to see so many people as Joan took him round, finding her friends as she went.

Louisa had already grabbed a glass of champagne from one of the trays being circulated, and it was helping her to feel a lot more chilled about everything. By the second glass, she really wasn't worried about anything at all, but decided that she mustn't have another glass or she ran the risk of making a complete idiot of herself. She made herself go into the marquee and have some of the food too. Joan had excelled herself and made a wonderful Christening cake, which was the centre piece of all the beautifully laid out food. Jenny was, as usual, right about the events and catering company, she had excellent taste in these things so had been an invaluable help. Louisa was enjoying the fact that for about the first time in her life, she didn't have to worry too much about the cost of it all – they could afford it, and it gave her great pleasure to see everyone enjoying themselves, but most especially Joan, who was always so good to her and Martin, always willing to help at any time.

"If only Martin would have a glass of wine, maybe he would chill just a little," she sighed to herself, knowing that it was never going to happen.

He was standing guard by the house, aiming to ensure that no nosy village idiot sneaked into the house to have a poke around. Chris was chatting to him, so at least he had reasonable company.

"This is really lovely Martin, the girls have done you proud." Louisa and Jenny had spent many sessions together sorting out the finer details of this event. Jenny was in her element, she loved organising parties.

"You reckon?" Martin replied moodily.

"Oh come on, welcome to the human race Mart, this is what us mere mortals do to enjoy ourselves from time to time, let our hair down, so don't act so superior," Chris chided him.

"You haven't really got any hair to let down, have you?" Martin pointed out.

"All I'm saying is that you should be enjoying your son's Christening party, not standing glaring at everybody as if you're doing some sort of penance. Louisa's really enjoying herself," Chris told him.

"Yes well, I'm glad she is, she got her own way in having the party so she ruddy well ought to be happy," Martin said.

"I'm curious, however did she get you to agree if you're so anti, hmm? What trick did she pull – it must have been a bloody good one," Chris just had to ask.

"Oh it was," Martin said wryly.

"Do tell, go on Mart, then I'll tell you how Jenny works on me if you're interested?"

"Well if you must know, it was..." Martin found it hard to say out loud.

"Yes...?" Chris prompted

"Stockings," Martin confessed very quietly.

"Ah right, I see, no, you never stood a chance then really, did you," Chris commiserated.

"I can't believe...I seem to have this weakness for them," Martin said.

"Well of course you do, all normal men do, and women just seem to know about it. Don't fight it, just relax and enjoy, that's what I've always found to be the best solution," Chris told him with a big smile on his face.

"You mean you and...Jenny wears...?" Martin asked curiously.

"Well not for quite a while now I come to think of it, we've been married a fair few years, and what with the kids... so like I say, make the most of it while you can," Chris advised. Thinking back to the night of the charity ball, he thought to himself '_how__can__he__be__so__bloody__good__in__bed__and__yet__understand__the__ways__of__woman__so__little?'_

This was a revelation to Martin. He'd never been one to engage in 'lads' talk, so had no real idea about other men's normal desires and thoughts, apart from in a medical way. He'd been feeling rather cross with himself, thinking that he was unusual and weak willed in being so distracted by Louisa's lingerie, but now it dawned on him that actually he was just a perfectly normal male, responding in a perfectly normal way, and after all it had been a _very_pleasurable night. This improved his mood somewhat.

Martin wandered into the marquee and round the garden, seeing Joan in her element, very proudly showing off Luke to her friends, he was smiling and laughing beautifully at them for her.

Louisa was being rather giggly as she enjoyed a good gossip with some of her staff from her school.

Bert was happily eating his fourth helping of food, washed down with a generous amount of his favourite local beer.

Al was trying to persuade Pauline to disappear into the bushes at the end of the garden with him, but she was having none of it.

"This new dress cost me an arm and a leg, it's the same style as Cheryl Cole wore the other week, so if you think I'm going in them bushes and risk getting it dirty or torn, you've got another think coming Al Large," she told him in no uncertain terms.

Joe and Emma were emerging from the bushes at the end of the garden adjusting their clothing as they did so, with Joe whispering furiously to Emma '_That's__against__the__law,__what__we__just...__you__know_, _in__the__open_' while Emma just smiled like a cat whose got the cream.

As she struggled to keep Alisha under control, Isabel was trying to chat up Paul Blake, the rather good looking single Dad who was on the board of governors at Louisa's school. However he kept looking over and watching Louisa. He could never understand why on earth Louisa had got together with the arrogant, rude doctor, especially after the way he'd belittled her abilities to cope with bringing up a baby and take on the Head Teachers' job that time in the street. He would never treat a beautiful, talented woman like her in that way, if she'd only give him a second glance...maybe one day she'd see sense and then he could be her knight in shining armour...

Mrs Tishell had managed to collar the new vicar and was regaling her with tales of all the previous vicars going back over the last twenty years. Felicity's eyes were starting to glaze over with boredom, but she finally managed to break away by saying,

"Oh I must speak to Mrs Ellingham now she's free, lovely to hear all of that history..."

Roger and Maureen were playing with their twins, Roger unrecognisable as the extremely grumpy man that Martin had encountered when he'd first arrived in Portwenn.

Martin sighed, the garden would be a wreck tomorrow, but he supposed that Arthur, the old boy who came once a week to maintain the garden could sort that out. The catering firm seemed to be adequate, just as Jenny had assured them that they would be, and so he hopefully wouldn't have an outbreak of food poisoning to cope with. He hadn't caught too many people trying to sneak into the house, because most people were happy to be in the garden or the marquee as it had turned into a lovely sunny afternoon after a cloudy morning.

He looked over at his little boy, remembering how Louisa had told him that Luke's name meant 'bringer of light', and how the vicar had gone on about a Christening signifying the bringing of light into the world. Seeing Joan and Louisa as they looked at Luke, for a second he thought that maybe he could just see something of this.

'_Pah,__load__of__old__tosh_', he told himself, '_Must__be__going__a__bit__Bodmin__myself,__not__really__surprising__after__being__surrounded__by__all__these__local__loonies'_

He wandered over to Louisa, and as soon as Luke saw him, he babbled happily and held out his arms to him, so Martin took him as Louisa went off to catch up with Isabel. He wandered round carrying Luke, who held on tightly to his Daddy, putting his chubby arms around his neck, having a sudden attack of shyness about all the strange people around, some of whom were talking and laughing very loudly, having had several drinks by now. Martin patted his soft little head reassuringly and very quietly whispered into his ear, so that only Luke could hear what he was saying,

"Don't worry son, you just ignore all these weirdoes and idiots, they'll be sodding off home soon, then we can get back to some sort of semblance of normality. Your Mother and your Grannie like all this sort of stuff, so we men just have to grin and bear it I'm afraid."

Luke smiled and giggled at their private joke. Yes, Daddy always understood what the problem was, they were definitely on the same wave length.

The vicar nearly choked on her canapé as Mrs Tishell, having caught up with her again, told her gushingly as she looked adoringly at Martin "He's such a natural with children, anyone can see that, such a wonderful sensitive man and a wonderful Doctor."

Bert nudged Pauline as he told her "You mark my words, there's nothing like the bond between a father and his son. Even our Doc, the miserable bugger, has got that special bond with his boy, you can see it now. Isn't it 'bout time you and Al thought about tying the knot so as you can have a couple of kiddies yourself, and make me a Grandad?"

Pauline looked at him in horror – no way was she going to let herself be tied down with a husband and brats any time soon. But she had to admit that there was something so cute about seeing the Doc with his baby, it made him look almost ...well cuddly.

Most of the villagers at the party had pretty much the same thought, seeing their Doc in a new, more human light, because he looked so proud and happy carrying his son around.

Martin would have been horrified if he'd realised, he wouldn't ever want anyone to think he'd gone 'soft'. He still didn't really like parties, and never would, but he had to admit, begrudgingly maybe, that Louisa had done a pretty good job with organising this one, it was all going very smoothly, and Joan especially was having a wonderful time, which he loved to see. He supposed that he could tolerate this kind of thing now and again if it kept Louisa happy. Not that he was going to let on to her, he thought that he might as well enjoy letting her persuade him again next time...


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:****Doc****Martin****is****the****property****of****Buffalo** **Pictures.****I****own****nothing****except****my****imagination.**

**Chapter 10**

**A Snip in Time**

Everyone in the village who'd been lucky enough to have been invited agreed that young Luke Ellingham's Christening party had been a very good do, the Doc and Louisa had put on a lovely spread, so now they all hoped that it was the first of many such occasions to come.

Louisa was sitting at the kitchen table, writing thank you letters for all the gifts that had been given to Luke for his Christening – she firmly believed in sending a proper, individual, hand written letter to each person who had been kind enough to give him a gift, but there were rather a lot to do. Luke was in his playpen, where he was happily playing with some toys for now – but she knew that he would soon get bored and start demanding attention. He was into everything now, crawling, pulling himself up, opening cupboards and emptying them, so they had had to 'babyproof' everything, putting door catches on all the kitchen cupboards, making sure that they always had the stair gate in place, leave nothing trailing that Luke could pull down on top of himself. He was a naturally very curious little boy, so looking after him was hard work at the moment, Louisa sometimes felt that she needed eyes in the back of her head. He loved being on his feet, and sometimes he let go of whatever he was holding onto, so that he was standing on his own for a few seconds. It was pretty obvious that he was going to be taking his first steps before too long, early in this as in all his development so far. He'd also had a fair amount of falls and knocks, as was to be expected with such an active little boy, so there had been quite a few tears too.

Martin came in from his study where he'd been writing up some notes and researching a couple of cases.

"Not started anything for supper yet?" he enquired.

"What does it look like Martin, I'm trying to write all these letters as well as keep Luke happy, so no, I haven't started anything yet," Louisa snapped back at him.

"Alright, I was only asking, I'll make a start then," Martin replied, thinking '_She's__very__touchy'._

Then he thought about what date it was and realised – it was nearly 'that' time of the month again, meaning that she was pre-menstrual. Once he realised this he relaxed, accepting that logically it was just the affect of her hormones making her snappy.

He'd been keeping a spread sheet of her cycle, partly because he was monitoring things to make sure that the IUD wasn't causing any problems, partly so that he was aware of where she was in her cycle so that he was pre-warned of any mood swings - such as today, and partly because he found it fascinating working out the affects of all the different hormones involved.

**xXx**

"Ellingham," Martin answered his mobile in his usual curt manner during his lunch break one day the following week.

"Doctor Ellingham, it's Sally Chadwick from the school." Sally sounded rather nervous.

"What is it this time, has one of the children stuck a crayon up their nose again?" he asked wearily. What was it with children, whatever they had in their hand always seemed to find its way into one of their numerous orifices, it seemed to him.

"No, not this time...it's Mrs Ellingham actually," Sally told him.

"Why, what's the matter with her?" Martin asked, instantly concerned.

"She's fine now, but I think you should know that she came over all faint today, had to sit down quietly for a while before she recovered. Not the first time either, it's happened a few times before. She didn't want to make a fuss or call you, but I'm a bit worried about her, so I thought you should know. Only don't tell her I've rung will you?" Sally explained.

"I appreciate your call. I'll come up to the school to see her now - will I find her in her office?" Martin asked.

"Yes, she should be. Thanks Doctor," Sally said.

**xXx**

Louisa felt like crap. 'The Curse', they called it and as far as she was concerned that was the correct term. But it was only for a few days a month, everything else was fine, so it was no big deal. She certainly didn't want Martin making a fuss over it, so she hadn't told him about it all. She knew that he kept one of his efficient spreadsheets for her menstrual cycle, at least then he was aware of when it was her 'lady time' she supposed. Most men found it to be such an embarrassing subject, but Martin treated it in a purely factual, medical way and actually seemed to be fascinated by how all these wretched hormones worked and affected her.

She was surprised as she looked up from her desk to see Martin coming into her study, carrying his medical bag.

"Hello Martin, what are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I err... was passing after visiting a patient, so I thought I'd call in to say hello," Martin lied, remembering Sally's request not to say she'd rung.

"Oh right, well...how was your morning?" Louisa asked him as she continued to sort through some papers – as usual there were far too many applicants for the next term's intake at her school, and she was trying to work out a way to take in a few extra pupils.

"The usual, malingerers, time wasters, and nosy parkers," Martin told her. He had a new photo on his desk to add to his collection- it was of his whole family now, himself holding Luke, Louisa and Joan as a proud little group outside the church at Luke's Christening. He swore that several of his patients had made an appointment just to see the photo, the way they were craning their necks to look at it. But he wanted it on his desk where he could see it, so he put up with the nosiness. He noticed Louisa's matching photo on her desk too.

"You look rather pale, are you alright?" Martin asked her.

"I'm fine, I'm always quite pale, it's my natural skin colour in case you hadn't noticed," She told him irritably. She was beginning to smell a rat...

"Well seeing as I'm here, why don't I check you over in any case?" Martin was pretty hopeless at lying or making up cover stories.

"Sally rang you didn't she? I told her not to, I'm fine, really," Louisa said with a sigh, quickly working out what had gone on.

"Well I'm glad she did. Why haven't you told me about fainting again, I need to know these things, how can I monitor you properly if I don't have all the facts?" he lectured her angrily.

"Here we go, this is precisely why I didn't tell you. It's nothing, I didn't actually pass out or anything I just felt a little light headed. It's normal for me, it's just a couple of days in the month, everything else is fine and I don't want you making any fuss," she glared at him.

"I'll be the judge of what's normal, and fainting every month isn't normal. Sounds to me as if you're going to have to have the IUD removed because it's causing heavy periods, you run the risk of becoming anaemic again if we don't get it sorted," he said as he started to check her over.

Louisa let him carry on, realising that it was probably quicker to do that than argue with him – he could be very stubborn.

"I'm taking a blood sample to get your iron levels checked out. In future Louisa, I would appreciate it if you would keep me fully informed in these matters. You seem OK for now, but we'll continue this conversation tonight," Martin told her firmly as he quickly took the sample and carefully put it in his medical bag.

"Great. I can't wait." Louisa replied with a resigned look on her face, as she watched Martin march out of her office, heading back to his surgery.

**xXx**

"Martin, I don't want to have the IUD removed, it's perfect in every other way, we never have to worry about taking precautions, and really, it's no big deal, I just feel a bit rough for a couple of days in the month. I have a very good diet with plenty of iron in it, so I'm unlikely to be anaemic," Louisa told Martin that evening, determined to carry on as they were.

"Your health comes before anything else Louisa, heavy periods are not normal and you shouldn't have to feel bad every month for any days at all," Martin replied, equally as determined.

"Anyway, what other contraceptive could we use that's as effective? I don't really want to go on the pill, I've tried it in the past, but it made me feel hormonal all the time, it just didn't suit me," Louisa told him.

"Hmm, I'd not be very keen for you to go on the pill at your age anyway, although you don't have any contra indications as such. We can use condoms," Martin stated. He'd read Louisa's medical notes from start to finish many times, so he knew about her trying the pill before. He'd never felt it to be appropriate for him to question her about the reasons why she'd gone on the pill at that time, it could be prescribed for other things such as improving acne, controlling periods etc, but he couldn't help wondering whether she'd been in a relationship at the time or not. Her notes had indicated that she'd simply wanted to control her cycle, but people don't always tell their doctor the whole truth he knew.

"Well condoms aren't always reliable as we well know Martin, and they aren't...well...for a man it's not so...pleasurable is it? And it's harder to be spontaneous, you'd need to make sure you always had some handy Martin, just in case we...got carried away," Louisa smiled at him knowingly.

"I err...I'm sure I could manage that. Anyway, research has shown that when using high quality condoms, consistently and properly applied, the failure rate is only around 2%, comparing favourably with other methods of contraception, with only a minor negative impact on the male sexual experience," Martin replied. But in truth he knew that using a condom would affect things from his point of view. Sex without any barriers was unquestionably more pleasurable, but nothing was more important to him than Louisa's health.

"Anyway, there is another solution which would solve the problem once and for all," Martin told her.

"What's that then?" Louisa asked curiously.

"I could have a vasectomy, then we won't have to worry ever again," Martin suggested.

Louisa looked at him in shock and horror.

"But that's permanent, and irreversible Martin," she said to him.

"Yes, I know, but I'd be prepared to undergo the procedure if it solved our problem," Martin offered, surprised by her response.

"So you have decided, you are sure, 100% certain, that you never ever want us to even consider having another baby?" Louisa asked him, looking as if someone had slapped her in the face.

"Good God Louisa, have _another_ baby...you know I'm no good at this father business, how I've struggled with Luke, why on earth would I want us to have another baby?" he said, clearly horrified and then looked on in astonishment as Louisa's face crumpled and she rushed out of the room.

He sat there for a minute in shocked silence, then followed her upstairs to their bedroom, finding her sitting on their bed.

"What was that all about?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Has it been so horrendous then, having Luke, that you're so keen to permanently rule out having another baby without even a second thought? I'm not saying that I want another baby right now, this minute, I've not long been back at work from maternity leave after all, but I'd hoped that sometime in the not too distant future we might at least talk about trying for another baby. I can't afford to leave it too long at my age. Do you hate being a father that much? I thought we were happy – have I got it all wrong then?" Louisa turned to look at him, her face distraught.

"No, no, of course not, I'm very happy as we are, the three of us. All I meant was that vasectomy was an option to be considered, I didn't mean… but truthfully you know I'm not any good with babies...children, so I thought you understood..." Martin tried to explain lamely. "I'm just not very good father material, and surely it wouldn't be fair to bring another baby into the world that I'd struggle even harder to be a father to. And at your age there are increased risks," he tried to explain.

"There is still a far greater chance that we would have a normal baby even at our ages, Martin. And you are a fantastic father to Luke, I don't know why you don't see that. As he gets older, you'll be great when he needs help with his science or his maths for example, or you can teach him to play chess maybe. It doesn't have to be all about football or sport– he may hate it, or else he can join the club at school. And have you not even thought about how nice it would be for Luke to have a little brother or a sister for company? This may all be academic, I may not even be able to have another baby, especially at my age, which is why we couldn't afford to leave it too long before we tried again. I just find it hard to accept that you can definitely, 100% say that you do not want to ever have another baby," Louisa spelt out to him.

"I just hadn't ever really thought about it, it has never occurred to me, Louisa," Martin said lamely.

**xXx**

Joan soon picked up that things were not as they had been between Martin and Louisa. There was an uneasy atmosphere between them, no little kisses or touching, just a strained politeness, so the first opportunity she got she collared Martin.

"What's the matter with you two, have you had a row?" she asked him outright, no beating about the bush.

"I don't know what you mean Auntie Joan, everything is fine," Martin replied defensively.

"Bollocks. Come on, out with it, what have you done to upset Louisa now?" Joan asked firmly.

"Oh I see, has to be my fault does it?" Martin said.

"Well isn't it? No good letting whatever the matter is fester, best get it out it the open and sorted," Joan told him.

Martin heaved a big sigh before finally confiding in Joan.

"I've stuffed up. Big time. Not sure how, or even if I can put it right actually," Martin told her miserably, before filling her in with what had passed between him and Louisa.

"So now it doesn't matter what I say, it won't be right will it? I'll just make things worse, so I'm scared to say anything at all. If I say that I've changed my mind and we should try for another baby soon, she'll think that I don't really want a baby, just like she believed I didn't want Luke, and that I'm just saying it to keep her happy. But if I stick to my guns and say that I don't want another baby, she's going to think that I still regret having Luke, and will be upset about not having another baby. So I don't really see how I can put it right, make it how it was before, so I've ruined everything. If you'd seen her face..." the look on Louisa's face was haunting him, he couldn't bear to see her so unhappy, especially knowing that he'd caused it.

"And how do you _really_ feel about having another baby, Martin?" Joan asked him quietly.

"Truthfully, I'd never even given it a second thought, so when Louisa talked about it, it was just an instant reaction. Now that I've had time to think about it, I suppose that if I've survived one baby, maybe another one wouldn't be so bad...if that's what Louisa wants," Martin told her.

"Oh Marty, why don't you ever think things through before you open your mouth about such sensitive matters, will you _ever_ learn?" Joan said exasperatedly.

**xXx**

"It was an honest reaction, that's how he feels, and really that's better than him lying to me, pretending to want a baby when he doesn't," Louisa told Jenny. It was good to have a friend to confide in, close as she was to Joan, she felt that she would find it hard to be impartial, and she didn't want to put her in the position of having to take sides, she was pretty sure that Martin had already confided in her.

"Yes but you have to remember that he was a bachelor for many years before you two got together, he's had to make a lot of adjustments in the last year, maybe you just need to give him a bit of time to adjust, to get used to the idea. Remember that it came out of the blue as far as he's concerned – you just have to talk to him to sort this out," Jenny advised her.

Jenny could hardly believe that she was defending Martin to Louisa, but the more time that she'd spent with them both, the more Jenny realised that Martin was actually a very good partner for Louisa, and a very good father to Luke, underneath that gruff exterior. Jenny had come to like and respect Martin, much to her surprise. In her opinion Louisa livened Martin up, and Martin provided stability for Louisa - they really were very good for each other, and she hated the thought that a simple lack of communication, albeit on a very important matter, could come between them.

"I don't want to have to talk him into anything so important. If he really doesn't want another baby, but I managed to persuade him to have one, he would just resent it wouldn't he? It's not like persuading him to have the party, this is far too important. After the rocky start we had with Luke..." Louisa insisted.

"Yes but look how well things have turned out now with Martin and Luke, they adore each other it's plain to see. You really would like another baby wouldn't you, and you know you really can't afford to leave this decision too long... at your age..." Jenny tried to tactfully point out

"Well, I hadn't planned on having another baby just yet, I've not long been back at work from my maternity leave after all, and Luke's not even one yet, but I'd thought we'd maybe start talking about it next year. I really don't know how we are ever going to sort this so that we're both happy – maybe we're just incompatible on this," Louisa sighed unhappily.

**xXx**

Martin came home from work to a very quiet house. No little boy happily crawling to see him, laughing and smiling and wanting to be picked up. No one calling out to him, asking how his day had been, reaching up to kiss his cheek. And it was very tidy everywhere, no toys or baby clutter anywhere. The house felt dead to Martin. He sighed and headed to the kitchen to make his supper, just enough for one.

Louisa was away for the week, it was the end of May half term, and she had been invited to join Jenny and her boys – Dan was ten and Ben was eight - in a holiday cottage in Wales that she had booked for the week. Chris wasn't going, he was too busy to take time off work. They would each take their own cars, as there was not enough room in either of their cars for everything. As long as she had the post code of where she had to go, her Sat Nav would find the way for her.

"I think it would be good for us both to have some space for a while, to think things through Martin. You can have the house to yourself without us messing it up for you or annoying you with inappropriate music," Louisa had told him. Martin didn't try to talk her out of going. If Louisa had mind up her mind to go, there really was no point.

They were still talking, but only about factual, everyday things, not about 'feelings' or anything important – like babies. He'd quizzed her about how safe the holiday cottage would be for Luke, and had been assured that it was fully kitted out with all the required safety equipment. He'd helped her load everything in her car, kissed them both goodbye, and then watched the car drive off.

There were so many things that he missed while they were gone, he had had nearly a week now to himself. He couldn't believe how much he missed them both. Since they'd moved in together, they'd always seen each other every day, even if it was only for a short while.

It was too quiet. Recently, he'd complained irritably to Louisa when he'd come home and found her dancing round the living room with Luke, singing to some dreadful pop music. Luke had been laughing and giggling as Louisa sang to him.

"For God's sake Louisa, what on earth are you doing, listening to that rubbish?" he'd snapped at her irritably.

Now he just wanted to hear her singing and see her dancing round, whatever the music – why had he been so grumpy about it?

He missed watching her effortlessly twirl her hair up into a pony tail or some other style – how she did it without even looking in the mirror was still a complete mystery to him. He missed watching her dry her hair – there was so much of it. He'd always had very short cropped hair that took 30 seconds to towel dry and comb through, he didn't even possess a hairdryer.

He missed all the silly feminine articles of clothing lying around – thongs, strings, shorties, magic pants (they were bloody awful, in his opinion), push up bras, balcony bras, T shirt bras, sports bras- he'd learnt the finer points of all the different articles of everyday feminine underwear from Louisa - it had been quite an eye opener. Martin always wore exactly the same make and style of underwear - he liked white, fitted cotton trunks that he found to have the necessary support that he required in that area. Louisa had suggested that although they did look nice on him, maybe a little variety would be nice, but he'd refused to even consider trying anything different. Now he wondered why he was being so stubborn about a little change like that.

He missed their evening routine when they prepared their supper – they usually did it together, chatting about the events of the day as they did so. They had very similar healthy tastes in food, both enjoying fish, pasta, and salads. He missed seeing Luke's messy face as he sat in his high chair at the table with them, he usually tried some of what they were having, wearing his scoop bib to catch all the bits of food. He'd try anything, sometimes pulling a funny little screwed up face if it was a flavour he wasn't used to, spitting it out, then trying it again to be sure. Luke chatted and babbled as he and Louisa talked, joining in the conversation as best as he could. This was probably Martin's favourite time of day.

He felt a lump in his throat when he opened the bathroom cupboard, and saw Louisa's favourite shower gel – he couldn't help himself, he had to smell it to remind himself of her, thinking of her singing in the shower, coming out with a towel wrapped round her, dripping wet hair, looking so alluring ... what he found less alluring were all the lady shaving implements left in there sometimes that were apparently necessary for all the different parts of a women's body – he'd never realised before how much effort a woman had to put in to look so natural.

Then there were things like face scrubs, face packs, exfoliators, pore refiners, cleansers, toners, moisturisers – one for day, one for night, one for eyes, serums- it seemed endless, he was just glad men weren't expected to do all that rubbish, although Louisa informed him that some men did. More fool them in his opinion. Then there was the tweezering of eyebrows, that looked bloody painful too. But it had all been a learning curve for him that he found intriguing.

He was used to sleeping on his own sometimes, when he was on call, but now the bed seemed too big, too empty. It wasn't just about the sex, great though that was, it was the closeness, the sharing, being a couple that he missed the most.

He really missed Luke's darling little face, with his cute blonde quiff that everyone loved to touch. He missed the way that he was always so happy to see him, he was still at a loss to really understand quite why Luke loved being with him so much, but he clearly did. And it was pure, unconditional love. He missed being able to go and look at him when he was asleep, looking so perfect.

Louisa had lots of photos in the living room – mostly they were of Luke, she took them all the time, and now he found himself looking at them, even touching them.

**xXx**

Finally Saturday came and they were due to return. He found himself constantly looking out of the window for her car. She'd said she hoped to be back around 4pm, in time for Luke to have his tea and normal bedtime routine.

It was nearer to 5pm when he finally saw her car pull up on their drive. He went out to meet her as she got out of the car – he could see that Luke was asleep in his car seat.

He went straight up to her and pulled her into his arms – she felt wonderful, and he held her very tight. She reached up on her tip toes so that she could wrap her arms around his neck. He felt just as wonderful to her. She had missed his calm, quiet presence terribly, Jenny's boys were pretty boisterous and noisy. She had also missed Martin's sheer big physical presence, and she relished being wrapped up in his big arms and chest.

They stood just holding each other for several minutes.

"I missed you," Louisa said, not letting go of him. She just wanted to breathe him in.

"Yes... I...missed you too," Martin replied, gently kissing her head.

They were interrupted by the sound of Luke beginning to wake up.

"Oh, he's going to be very grumpy, I didn't really want him to go to sleep, but we hit loads of traffic, so it took longer to get back than I thought," Louisa explained, finally tearing herself away from Martin.

"I'll get him," said Martin, moving to the car.

As soon as Luke saw Martin, he smiled happily and laughed, holding out his arms to be picked up.

He wasn't grumpy at all now that he'd seen Martin. He'd really missed his Daddy too.

Martin unclipped him from his seat and lifted him out, holding him close and loving the feeling of the little arms round his neck.

**xXx**

Later that evening, once Luke was safely tucked up for the night, they talked as they sat together on the sofa.

"Look, now I've had a chance to think things through, I've realised that I'm more than happy with just you and Luke, so if having another baby isn't an option for you, then I've decided that I can live with that. What we already have is just too special to spoil with arguments about something that may not even be possible. I missed you so very much while I was away," Louisa told Martin.

"Have the IUD removed, we use condoms for now, then when you feel the time is right...I'll leave it up to you to decide when that is...then we see what happens. If you get pregnant we have another baby. If you don't then it's not meant to be and we just be happy that we have Luke," Martin blurted out.

"What...Martin...are you sure?" Louisa couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. "_You_ are suggesting that we could try for another baby when the time is right... when I feel ready?"

"Can't bear to be without you Louisa, I've told you that before. Can't bear to see you unhappy either. If you must know, I've hated being here on my own, can't believe now that's how I used to live. I missed Luke very much too.I've survived one baby, so no doubt I can survive another, might actually enjoy it. But only one more. There is a limit. And you'd have to promise to let me be fully involved this time, take you to all your check ups, be there for any scans or tests, not keep anything from me." He said all this very gruffly, not actually looking at Louisa.

"Martin, I do love you so very much," Louisa told him, holding his face between her hands so that he had to look at her. Then she kissed him very softly on his lips.

"I think we'll need to do some serious practicing though," she told him.

"Practicing?" he asked her.

"Baby making practicing. Starting tonight. To make sure we get it perfect when the right time comes," Louisa insisted, taking him by the hand and heading towards the stairs with him.

"Well, I suppose practice does make perfect," Martin replied, smiling broadly, his world coming alive once again as he happily followed her to their bedroom.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**A Girl's Best Friend - Chapter 11**

Joan had invited Martin and Louisa to join her for Sunday lunch on Louisa's return from her trip away, anxious to find out how things seemed between them, but not wanting to pry. She had desperately missed Luke, she'd never had such a long time without seeing him. It didn't take her long to work out that the atmosphere between them seemed to be pretty much back to normal, to her relief.

She waited until Louisa disappeared with Luke to change his nappy, then seized her moment to quiz Martin.

"Things hunky dory between you two again then Marty?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Err...yes," Martin smiled back at her.

"Resolved your differences then, managed to come to some sort of agreement?" Joan asked again, desperate to know what the situation was about them having another baby.

"Well, I think you could say that," Martin replied, realising that she was desperate to know, but unwilling to elaborate any further.

"So, should I start checking under the gooseberry bushes in a few months time, or watch out for any storks bringing a delivery?" She looked directly at him now with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I don't think that will be necessary...not for a while yet anyhow," Martin replied, fixing her back with a stare.

"But maybe sometime...? Oh come on Marty, I need to know, have you two agreed to try for another baby or not?" Joan asked him, giving up with trying to be tactful and restrained.

"Time will tell, won't it?" Martin told her with a twinkle in his eye, but refusing to be drawn any further, leaving Joan to draw her own conclusions.

**xXx**

It was Martin and Louisa's turn to have Chris and Jenny over to dinner. Luke had had his food earlier before they came, followed by his bath, so when they arrived he was all ready for bed. Jenny and Chris had a cuddle with him, Luke charming them with his smiles and giggles before he was taken upstairs to be put down for the night. As the girls took him up, Jenny said to Louisa,

"He's such a poppet, he was so good when we were in Wales together, he almost makes me feel broody again. So ...I take it you and Martin...have sorted things out?" It was obvious that they had, but Jenny was fishing to find out just what had happened on Louisa's return.

"Yes...yes we have," Louisa replied with a little smile on her face.

"And...so...baby or no baby, which way did things go?" Jenny asked her.

"No baby just yet, but when the time is right...we'll see what happens," Louisa replied breezily, not wishing to go into too many details.

"Well don't leave it too long, I had my two boys pretty close together, and although it's hard work, it's much better in the long run I've found," Jenny advised her. "Sometimes there isn't really a 'right time', you just have to go for it."

"I just want to enjoy this summer with Luke and Martin, then I want to get a few more of the new procedures that I've been working on implemented at school. After that maybe we'll think about taking it from there," Louisa said, as she started going back downstairs.

Martin had been quite adamant that he really didn't want anyone knowing about their plans to possibly expand their family in the future. As an intensely private man, the last thing he wanted was knowing looks and questions all the time. Louisa was in complete agreement with him, so was telling Jenny as little as she could get away with.

Downstairs Chris was having even less luck with Martin.

"Is it really true that you might be softening a little and getting used to the idea of having another baby Martin?" Chris asked him, suspecting that this was the case by the closeness that was apparent between the two of them.

"What makes you say that?" Martin replied evasively.

"Oh I don't know, maybe something Jenny picked up on during their week away in Wales...you know how the girls like to talk about these things," Chris replied airily, knowing full well more or less everything that had been said, but also knowing how much Martin guarded his privacy.

"Hmm. Didn't think you went in for idle gossip Chris," Martin told him.

"Well it's not gossip to ask a good friend, out of concern, if they've sorted out an issue that was causing friction is it?" Chris was a little put out to be accused of gossiping.

Martin sighed. He didn't want to offend Chris, he was a good friend, he knew that.

"We've agreed to see what happens when Louisa decides it's the right time to stop taking precautions. Nothing may happen after all, you know as well as I do that at our age it may not be that easy," Martin finally told him.

"How will she decide when the right time is?" Chris queried.

"You'll have to ask Louisa that – I'm guessing maybe some sort of feminine intuition?" Martin told him.

**xXx**

The theme for the Midsummer Ball was 'Black and White' meaning that if the woman was wearing a black dress, the man wore a white tuxedo and if she was wearing a white dress, the man wore a black dinner jacket. Louisa and Jenny had discussed at length what they were going to wear.

"Well I wore a black dress to the last Ball, so I'm going to look for a white dress this time, makes it easy for Chris too, he can just wear his usual black dinner jacket," Jenny decided.

Louisa really wanted to buy a gorgeous black dress that she'd spotted when she'd been out shopping for her outfit for Luke's christening, but she knew that Martin didn't have a white tux. However an opportunity arose for her to bring the subject up.

"Louisa, I'm due to order a couple of new suits from my tailor in London, some of mine are getting rather worn, especially with Luke having managed to wipe every possible bodily fluid all over them now, so I wondered if you had any preference in the choice of fabric," Martin had told her, showing her the samples that had been sent down from London. Martin Ellingham was a very good customer for his tailor, usually ordering a couple of new suits once a year or so, along with a regular supply of shirts and ties and underwear, so he received gold star treatment.

"Mmm, I rather like that one and that one," she replied, picking out two of the samples. One was a navy pin stripe, the other was a pale silvery grey.

"Good, I rather liked those ones too," Martin replied. "I'll let him know and arrange a date to go up to London for the final fitting, my measurements shouldn't have changed much, so he can get them to that stage. I've got several things to do in town, but if I caught the early train I think I could get everything done and be back in the evening. I really would prefer not to stay over if I don't have to, and if I'm only away one day I won't have to arrange any cover at the surgery."

They both had had enough of London to last a lifetime, much preferring their Cornish life.

"No doubt he does white Tuxedos too?" Louisa asked.

"Of course, why?" Martin asked.

Louisa explained about the theme of the ball and the black dress that she'd seen. She was delighted that Martin seemed keen to go the Ball this time. No persuasion had been necessary, he'd bought the tickets without any prompting from her.

"So would this dress you're thinking of buying need...umm...some new special lingerie that I would get to check out? Or can I at least get a repeat performance of your last outfit?" Martin asked her rather cheekily.

"Both...if you're good," Louisa replied, just as cheekily, delighted at his interest.

"Good...right...yes… then I'll order the tux as well," replied Martin. It would be a good idea anyway, if they were going to attend these occasions on a regular basis, was how he justified it to himself.

Louisa made a mental note to secretly give Martin's tailor a ring before he went up to London to see if he could have any luck in persuading Martin to consider some more casual outfits as well. If it came from his usual tailors, maybe he would feel more comfortable about it, and no doubt the tailor would be keen to drum up more business. So far all her suggestions for more casual attire had fallen on deaf ears – the best she had achieved was that sometimes he left his jacket off, and very occasionally he took his tie off.

**xXx**

Joan came over to Martin and Louisa's house on the morning of the Ball once she had completed all her chores on the farm. She was staying over to look after Luke. Now that he was not only crawling but also pulling himself up and cruising round all the furniture, it was easier for her to look after him in his own home for now where, as far as possible, everything had been babyproofed. Also she would be able to walk into the village with him in his buggy, and take him to the swings in the playground. She could proudly show him off to everyone too, something that every Grannie loves to do.

The Ball was being held in the evening, in a big country house only about an hours drive from Portwenn, but they had decided to make a day of it and stop off for lunch on the drive over. The last couple of weeks had been manically busy for both of them. Martin was heavily involved with his new minor surgery clinic, he did two afternoon sessions a week, and it had proved to be a major success. However, it meant that he was spending even more time in the evenings researching and preparing for the extra procedures. Louisa didn't complain though, she knew that he was happy and really enjoying the new challenges. In any case, the summer term was always the busiest one for her, and Luke was also being a real handful at the moment, not liking being told 'no' when he kept touching things that he had to learn were out of bounds - he most definitely had a very stubborn streak, often going straight back to the very thing that she had stopped him from touching. At least both she and Martin were in agreement that boundaries had to be set for Luke right from the beginning, for him to learn right from wrong. So most evenings recently they had both just fallen into bed exhausted, too tired for anything more than just a quick kiss and cuddle before crashing out.

Aware that Joan was around and probably listening in as they packed the car to leave, Martin subtly asked Louisa,

"You have packed..._everything_...?" Martin asked, raising his eyebrows. He was looking forward to his fashion show, that was why he was so keen to get to their room early this time.

"I think so, Martin, and have you packed all the err..._essentials_?" Louisa quizzed him back. It was his responsibility to ensure they had a supply of condoms.

Joan didn't miss any of this, smiling to herself and hoping that this was some sort of code to do with baby making, not realising that it was in fact, at least partly the opposite. She knew Martin well enough to know that if he was being evasive, then it was because there was something to be evasive about. She was thrilled at the prospect of another baby, it was more than she would have dared to hope for just a few months ago.

Louisa had reluctantly had her IUD removed on Martin's insistence. She still thought that he was making too much fuss, that it would have been fine to continue with it, but he was adamant. So they would now be relying on condoms, and Martin had mail ordered in a range of different types to try out to find the one that best suited. He hadn't ordered them through Mrs Tishell, he hadn't felt able to face her look at ordering such a variety, nor did he want there to be any risk of gossip in the village.

After a very pleasant lunch together in a pub on the way, Martin continued the drive over to the country house. After a few minutes, he nervously cleared his throat and asked Louisa,

"So...um...this business of another baby and the right time, any thoughts of when that might be...just to give me some idea?"

He had a habit of bringing awkward subjects up when he was driving because then he had an excuse not to look at her.

"I'm really not sure Martin, I've got several projects that I need to implement at work...I've not long been back from Maternity leave... Luke isn't even one yet...so maybe in a year or so..." Louisa suggested. This had all come to a head before she had really thought it all through fully herself.

"Only...I've been thinking...now that I'm getting used to the idea, maybe we shouldn't wait too long, at our ages, it might not happen straight away...it could easily take six months to a year anyway...and maybe there will never be a right time with your job...so maybe we should...well, just go for it...now..."

Martin stared straight ahead, intent on driving it seemed.

Louisa sat there completely dumbfounded, and at a loss for words.

"I don't think I'm quite ready for that just yet Martin. Like I said, I'll let you when the time is right and that I'm ready," she finally managed to reply.

**xXx**

They arrived at the country house at around 2pm, when they could have their room. Louisa giggled as they walked in to it, finding that there was a massive four poster bed.

"I've never slept in a four poster bed before, have you Martin?" she asked him.

"No, but they have assured me that the mattress is a very recent replacement and certainly not of the same age as the base." Martin was very fastidious on these matters as Louisa knew only too well.

There were no facilities this time such as a swimming pool, jaccuzi or hairdressers, so a lot of the guests, including Chris and Jenny, weren't arriving until later. However, Martin had his own agenda for the afternoon.

Louisa couldn't help herself, the huge bed looked so squishy and inviting, she threw herself onto it to test it out, and then just lay there relaxing for a minute.

Martin leant over, gently kissed her, then lay down next to her.

"Oh this is so lovely and relaxing, isn't it?" sighed Louisa.

"It certainly is," replied Martin, starting to kiss her again, feeling her starting to respond as their tiredness gave way to other feelings.

"I've err...put your bag over there," Martin pointed out with a none too subtle hint.

"I'll be back in a minute ...don't go anywhere will you?" Louisa smiled at him as she disappeared into the bathroom with her bag.

**xXx**

Martin wanted an exact replay of the evening of the last Ball and Louisa was more than happy to go along with this, it had been very pleasurable for her too. And as Martin had been so wonderful about them having another baby in the end, she would happily have gone along with any suggestion he cared to make for them in the bedroom.

But of course this time, they had to use a condom which was no problem except that they found that it rather slowed things down for Martin.

"I'm sorry Louisa," he told her, embarrassed at his performance.

He prided himself that usually they were pretty much in tune with each other in their timing. When they had very first used a condom, it had been a good thing that it slowed him down, but now...well, perhaps next time a different sort would be better, he decided, having gone for the 'ultra strong' type with the highest safety factor , and maybe sacrificing some sensation in doing so this time.

"It doesn't matter, it was still amazing," she told him truthfully as they cuddled together afterwards. Very quickly they both fell asleep in sheer exhaustion, enjoying the luxury of an afternoon nap

But as a perfectionist, his tardy performance niggled Martin.

Louisa was woken up about an hour later by Martin kissing her neck and running his hand up her leg – she was still wearing her lingerie, and he wanted to make the most of this before she started getting ready for the evening. This time they enjoyed a simple, straight forward pleasurable love making, Martin opting for not such heavy duty protection, but although things were better, he still felt that there was room for improvement.

He watched her disappear to the bathroom to start her preparations, looking forward to the next outfit – even though Louisa informed him that this one would be on a 'look but don't touch' basis for now.

"I think you need to save your strength for later hmm? Have something to look forward to," she told him.

He, however, was hoping to persuade her otherwise, wanting to make the most of every opportunity on this rare trip away.

While Louisa was faffing about and sorting her hair out after her shower, Martin had his shower, which didn't take very long at all. Then he lay on the bed in his dressing gown, watching Louisa as she got ready.

Her dress was a halter neck style which was close fitting and ruched all the way down to her hips, then it had a netting skirt which flared out.

"You don't think it makes my bum look big, do you? I have seven days to change my mind and take it back," Louisa had asked him the classic question when she'd shown him the dress on at home. She knew that she would get a brutally honest answer from him, but she also knew that he had very good taste too.

Even Martin was aware that this was a loaded question, but he wasn't one to lie about these things.

"The dress does emphasise the contours of your gluteus maximus," confirmed Martin, "And as females are naturally larger in this area, then technically yes I suppose it does 'make your bum look big', as you put it. But I err...like it, don't take it back, I think you should keep it."

Martin loved her curvy bottom, he found that to be one of her sexiest areas, so actually he _very_ much approved of her new dress.

Louisa was pretty content with this response. To get 'I like it' was high praise indeed from Martin, so she kept the dress.

Another trip to 'Exclusive Elegance' had sorted out the perfect black underwear for the dress, and she now disappeared into the bathroom to put it on, determined to keep to her 'look but don't touch' policy for now.

She sat at the dressing table, wearing her black lacy strapless body with black stockings, watching Martin in the mirror. His response was obvious through his thin dressing gown. She put her make up on, then carried on putting heated rollers in her hair as she'd decided to wear her hair down but to curl it for a change. Looking after Luke meant that she always wore her hair tied back to prevent him from grabbing handfuls and pulling it, so wearing it loose would be a nice change, she felt.

"Seeing me in rollers will soon cool his ardour," she giggled to herself.

But it didn't – he watched fascinated as she curled her hair round the rollers, and noticed that her neck was exposed now, and he knew that kissing her there usually meant that he could persuade her into bed, so he came and stood over her, trapping her with his arms by holding onto the dressing table where she sat, and started kissing her neck.

"Martin! I told you...no touching...you're insatiable today," she told him, but closed her eyes and inhaled deeply despite herself. He knew exactly how to get to her, and he was thrilled by the fact that he could affect her just as easily as she could affect him.

He saw her response and carried on kissing her neck and behind her ears... and then there was a knock on the door.

"Hi Louisa, it's Jenny, just to say we've arrived," called out her voice.

"Just ignore her," Martin whispered urgently.

"Are you two in there?" Chris now called out.

Louisa ducked under Martin's arms, slipped on her dressing gown, and opened the door to say that they would soon be ready to go down.

"Bugger," thought Martin disappointed to have had his plans thwarted.

"We've just got to get changed, I'm all made up and so on, so we'll give you a knock in about twenty minutes," Jenny told Louisa.

"OK. We're nearly ready too, so see you in a minute," Louisa replied, closing the door.

"Don't even think about it Martin Ellingham, just go and get dressed," she told him as he tried to pull her into his arms again.

Martin realized that he was fighting a losing battle, so did as he was told and got dressed as Louisa quickly slipped her dress and shoes on and took the hair rollers out, leaving her hair tumbling down in curls.

"Mmm...Martin, I love you in your white Tux, you look even sexier than in your black jacket," she told him admiringly. She had always had a thing for men in evening dress. They looked so classy in her opinion, and with Martin being so tall, he looked very elegant.

Martin was nearly lost for words when he looked at Louisa. He'd never seen her with a mass of curls tumbling down over her shoulders before, and he had to swallow hard to regain some sort of control.

"I err... think there's something missing with your outfit," Martin told her.

"Oh...what...?" Louisa was rather crestfallen, that wasn't the response she was hoping for.

Martin reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a black leather box, which he handed to her.

"I thought this...would finish off your outfit," he told her rather shyly.

Louisa opened the box and gasped at the contents. In it was a beautiful diamond necklace, it had larger diamonds in the front, graduating to smaller ones at the back, and it glinted and flashed in the light. It was simply stunning.

"Martin, it's _beautiful_, but you shouldn't have...I mean I didn't expect..." Louisa was now the one struggling to find words.

"I want you to wear it tonight. I've never bought you any jewellery before, not even an engagement ring, and your wedding ring is just a plain simple band. You look so ...so beautiful Louisa, I want to show you off to everyone, and you deserve the very best of everything...and I... love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love anyone..." Martin spoke from his heart now, and tears welled up in Louisa's eyes as she flung herself into his arms and kissed him by way of a response as he held her close to him.

Eventually she recovered herself and asked him to help her put the necklace on, which he did. It looked wonderful with her black dress, as he had known it would when he'd seen it on his trip to the jewellers in London. This had been on his list of jobs to do whilst up in town.

It was true, he hadn't even bought her an engagement ring. After the non wedding, before she left for London, Louisa had put the engagement ring that had belonged to Martin's Grandmother carefully back in the special box that it had come in, a tear rolling down her cheek as she had done so. Then she'd put it in a box containing a few other bits and pieces of his that had been left at her cottage, and had entrusted Roger Fenn to make sure that this package was returned safely to Martin. He'd put the box away out of sight at the top of his wardrobe, along with the letter that she had written to him, and the dried up shrivelled flower that she had put in his lapel at the concert.

When they'd finally decided to get married this time, he'd been unsure what to do about the engagement ring – it held so many painful memories for both of them.

Finally he'd plucked up the courage to broach the subject.

"Do you think you could ever feel happy to wear this ring again, Louisa?" he'd asked her, putting it down on the table in front of them both one day, shortly before their wedding.

"I don't know, Martin. It is a very beautiful ring, and it's special because it belonged to your Grandmother, but at the moment I think that if I wore it, it would bring back sad memories – for both of us. Maybe in time, when those memories have faded enough, I might be able to wear it again," Louisa had told him.

"Then I'll put it in your drawer for now, and if or when you feel happy to wear it again it'll be there for you," Martin had suggested.

He'd noticed that tonight, for the very first time, Louisa had put the engagement ring on, making him feel very happy that her sad memories had faded enough now. She wore very little jewellery in any case, partly because it wasn't her style, and partly because she had very sensitive skin. Cheap jewellery brought her out in a rash, so she could really only wear platinum, which was very expensive. Luckily, his Grandmother's ring was platinum, and he had ensured that the necklace was too.

Louisa quickly touched up her makeup after her tears, and wiped her lipstick from Martin's cheek just before Jenny and Chris knocked on the door for them all to go down.

**xXx**

It was a wonderful evening. Louisa took Martin's arm as they walked in, pausing to have an official photo taken, both as a couple, and with Chris and Jenny in a little group.

Martin proudly introduced her to people as '_My__Wife,__Louisa'_, remembering how at the last Ball he had had to introduce her as '_My__Partner,__Louisa'_which he'd hated. Several people commented among themselves that Martin Ellingham looked so much more relaxed and happy than at the previous occasion, he'd definitely mellowed.

They wandered around outside in the beautiful grounds of the country house, agreeing that as they both found old historic houses very interesting, visiting some of the properties in the local area was something that maybe they could enjoy doing together for a day out, taking Luke in his buggy too.

They enjoyed their meal, and afterwards the band started up, luckily playing pieces that even Martin quite enjoyed, and with a pretty good male singer.

Several other doctors and surgeons came up to Martin, questioning him about the minor surgery clinic at his practice, wanting to know more about it and how he was finding it, it seemed to be causing quite a stir and a lot of interest. Chris came and joined in their conversation too.

Louisa and Jenny left them to it for a while, and went back outside, Louisa quickly phoning home to Joan to make sure that Luke was OK, which he was. Although Luke was a handful at the moment, Louisa knew that when Joan looked after him, she simply devoted all her attention to him, she didn't try to do ten other things at the same time as Louisa usually tried to. The chores could wait until another time, as far as Joan was concerned, she had plenty of time on her own when she could do all that sort of thing.

As the girls headed back to the house, Martin looked up in time to see Louisa walking in, and caught his breath. He still found it hard at times to believe that he'd managed to persuade her to marry him, and could quite understand other people's disbelief. He saw the look on some of the other doctors faces as Louisa spotted him and came over, slipping her arm through his and reaching up to peck his cheek.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to steal my husband away from you now for other very important duties," Louisa cheekily told the crowd of men, then led him to the dance floor where the band were just starting a slow number.

"You didn't mind, did you, only I love this song," Louisa told Martin as she pulled him close and wrapped her arms around his neck, moving very slowly with him to the music.

"Oh I dare say I'll get over it," Martin replied, pulling her closer still with his hands around her waist.

**xXx**

Finally they went back to their room at around midnight, the evening seeming to have flown by this time. Martin thought he had been very patient waiting for this moment, but in fairness he had spent a lot more time talking to other people than on previous occasions. His professional pride had been somewhat restored by the reactions of the other doctors to his surgical clinics, they'd heard very impressive reports of his achievements and skills.

Once inside their room, they looked intently at each other for a moment. Louisa very tenderly reached her hand up to his cheek, slowly kissed him, and said,

"Thank you, I've had a wonderful evening."

"It isn't over yet," Martin replied, reaching for the zip of her dress.

They slowly and carefully helped each other to undress, not wanting to rush, Louisa surprised to find that Martin was actually wearing a slightly different type of underwear – his trunks weren't white, they were black!

"You _are_ full of surprises tonight, aren't you!" Louisa told him. It might only be a small change, but for Martin it was quite something. She wondered what else had been in Martin's special delivery from his tailor – he'd been quite cagey about letting her see.

The four poster bed was quite high, there was even a little footstool by it for shorter people, so Martin now lifted Louisa onto it, not letting her go as he joined her. She was naked apart from her diamond necklace, which she refused to take off.

"I take it that you..._like_the necklace then?" Martin asked her, very pleased by her reaction.

"I love it because you thought of it, and then you made a special trip to the jewellers to choose it, especially for me. Do you think it looks nice with my outfit now," she asked him provocatively, posing on the bed, with her wild hair curling over the pillow and sheet.

"I shall always have a picture of you just as you are now in my mind whenever I see that necklace," Martin told her truthfully, before kissing her and starting a slow, lingering lovemaking that went on for a very long time. It was third time lucky, the condom that Martin used this time was the most sensitive of all, and much to his relief and pride, they reached an intense climax together.

**xXx**

"Martin, I repeat what I said before, you're insatiable!"

This was Louisa's reaction at being woken up the following morning by Martin spooning with her and feeling his almost instant arousal pressing against her back.

"I can't help it, you're just irresistible, Mrs Ellingham," he told her as he pushed her hair to one side and once more started kissing her neck and running his hands round to caress her breasts...

**xXx**

They finally made it down to breakfast to join Jenny and Chris.

"Had a lie in after your late night?" Jenny asked seemingly innocently.

"Yes, just making the most of some baby free time to catch up on sleep," Louisa answered just as innocently.

They'd certainly made the most of the time, thought Martin to himself, but they certainly hadn't wasted too much of it on _sleep_.

**xXx**

They arrived back home mid morning. Joan greeted them with Luke in her arms, she had thoroughly enjoyed looking after him, although she had to admit it could be pretty challenging, he was into _everything_. She would have to confess at some time that Luke had managed to pull all of Martin's files out of the bottom shelf in his study, just in a brief minute while Joan was in the loo, Luke having managed to push the study door open even though it had appeared closed. She'd put all the papers back as best she could, but no doubt Martin would soon realise that they were not in quite the right order. He had looked very cute though, sitting there surrounded by papers as if he was reading them. And then upstairs, while she had been making her bed, he'd managed to pull open a drawer, and had had great fun in grabbing the contents and tossing them out – the fact that it was Louisa's underwear drawer didn't matter to Luke in the slightest, but Joan had felt rather embarrassed at having to put all her knickers back. But he had looked funny when a pair had got caught on his head. He really was a little tinker at the moment.

"So, how's he been, his usual naughty little self, eh?" Louisa asked as she took him in her arms and gave him a big hug and kiss, as Martin unloaded the car.

"No, no, he's been as good as gold," Joan lied. "So, did you have a good time, did you manage to relax and wind down after your hectic work schedules?" Joan asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, we had a lovely time, we relaxed and caught up on lots of sleep," Louisa lied too.

Luckily Joan was distracted by Luke so missed the look and raised eyebrow that Martin shot Louisa.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Birthday Boy - Chapter 12**

July 14th - Luke's first birthday. Louisa could hardly believe it, their baby boy was one year old. They'd decided that after all the organising and excitement of his Christening party and then the Midsummer Ball, they would just have a simple family birthday tea party. It was the first day of the summer holidays, that was how the term dates had worked out this year.

Luke was almost walking now, standing by himself, and taking a step or two into their waiting arms, thinking himself very brave. As his birthday was at the start of the summer holidays, Louisa hoped that he would take his first proper steps for her at home. She would still send him to the nursery for some of the time that she was off, it was a full time, all year round day nursery to cater for all working parents, not just school teachers. She didn't want to lose her place, or to have to get Luke used to it all over again in September when the new term started.

Luke had just had his first haircut, it had really only been a few blonde wispy bits of hair that had grown quite long. Martin had been adamant that he should look like a boy, and not have girly long hair. Louisa had carefully kept these first hair cuttings, putting them into his baby record book.

She was so glad that they'd finally reached the end of term, she was exhausted and felt very tired from working full time and looking after Luke, she was more than ready for a break. When she thought back over the past year, she could hardly believe how different her circumstances were then to now. At that point in time, she had never imagined for one second that this is how things would turn out. She was mightily glad that they had, but it had certainly been a roller coaster of a year.

Martin went and got Luke up in the morning as he usually did, letting Louisa stay in bed for a few more precious minutes. Luke was awake, chattering and babbling, standing up and holding on to the bars of his cot, shaking them because he was impatient to be picked up. His face lit up as he saw Martin, holding his arms up and excitedly saying 'Dadadada'' and chuckling.

Martin proceeded to change his nappy and dress him in the outfit that Louisa had left out for ready for him – it was a very cute denim dungaree outfit. He was a dab hand at it now, another task where practice makes perfect.

Task done, he handed Luke to Louisa before disappearing to quickly shower.

"Hello birthday boy," she cooed at him "Presents after breakfast hmm, and then it's your party this afternoon, isn't it?"

"He doesn't understand about birthdays or parties yet Louisa," Martin reminded her. As usual, he'd been less than enthusiastic about a party, even a small one.

"Of course he does, because you're so clever aren't you?" Louisa nuzzled and kissed Luke as she said this, making him collapse laughing and giggling.

"Hmm. Better get on with breakfast, some of us still have to go to work today," Martin pointed out as he got dressed.

They sat together at the kitchen table, Luke sitting in his high chair, plastic bib complete with sleeves on as well as his scoop bib because he got in such a terrible mess, happily banging his spoon on his tray, occasionally dipping it into his porridge as Louisa tried to feed him with another spoon. All Luke managed to do was flick porridge everywhere, but he loved having his own spoon.

"Right, if Luke's finished his breakfast we'd better give him his presents before you disappear off to work," Louisa told Martin.

She wiped all the excess breakfast from Luke's face, hair, and hands, then took him down from his highchair. That would need a good clean later too.

They went into their lounge, where Louisa had put the presents for Luke. The main present for Luke was a push along toy car walker that he could also sit on. It had come in a big cardboard box, and Louisa had wrapped it up, despite Martin telling her that it was a waste of time.

They helped him to unwrap it and take it out of the box, Louisa taking lots of photos. Finally they pulled it out of the box.

"Luke, you can hold on here and walk with it," Louisa tried to show him. But he was far more interested in scrunching and tearing the wrapping paper. Martin sat Luke in the big box, with the wrapping paper – Luke loved it and happily sat in there for ages, completely ignoring his new toy.

"We know what to get him for Christmas then," Martin told Louisa, kissing them both before disappearing off to work.

"Don't be late back this afternoon, at least not without a very good reason," Louisa shouted after him. They'd agreed that he wouldn't try to come home at lunchtime, instead he would work through in order to be back a bit earlier than usual.

"I won't," he replied as the door slammed behind him.

**xXx**

Louisa enjoyed pottering around at home in the morning, relishing the start of the school holidays. She got a few chores done as best she could with Luke around – he wasn't going to nursery today. It was just luxury for her not having to rush off to work or anywhere else for that matter. Joan was coming over in a little while to spend the day with them and help prepare the birthday tea.

Louisa was still in her dressing gown when Joan arrived, she'd waited until she came so that she could mind Luke while she had her shower. She'd tried having him in the bathroom with her while she speedily washed in the shower cubicle, but had stepped out to find that he'd managed to prise open her cupboard and had had great fun ripping open all her tampons - he'd cleared out a whole box full last time, it was no wonder that he'd been so quiet.

Once Louisa had had a quick shower and got dressed, Joan gave Luke his present from her, and helped him to unwrap it. It was a little set of drums and a pretend guitar that played music.

"You know how he loves playing with the saucepans as if they were drums, so I thought he could have his own little set," Joan explained helpfully

Louisa knew only too well about Luke playing with the saucepans. He made a terrible racket with them, sometimes using a wooden spoon as well, and he'd dented the pans into the bargain. He'd been very upset the other day to find that they'd now put a special catch on the cupboard door to stop him constantly pulling the saucepans out, and had spent ages determinedly pulling at the door trying to open it anyway. They'd been thinking about having a new kitchen fitted, but had decided that it was probably a good idea to put it on hold until Luke was a little bit older.

"Thank you Grannie, perhaps you can keep the drum set at your place for when he comes to you," Louisa suggested, equally as helpfully.

**xXx**

Joan and Louisa took Luke out for a walk in his buggy, setting off for the playground, where he loved the swings. As they walked through the village, they met quite a few people who remembered that it was his birthday, and made a fuss of Luke in his buggy.

Bert Large was just opening up his restaurant as they walked by, and he invited them to come in on their way back.

"Stop by on your way back for a spot of lunch ladies, on the house, for this young lad's birthday. Can't let a special day like this go by without making a fuss, can we eh?" Bert said as he tickled Luke under his chin and laughed at him, leaning right into his buggy. There was something about Bert's huge face with his silly woollen hat, and his rotund frame that was almost clown like, he looked rather like a character from one of the books that Louisa read to Luke at bedtime sometimes, so Luke didn't find him scary, but very funny instead.

Bert loved the fact that Luke laughed with him, and looked forward to them coming to the restaurant and spoiling them.

"At least that boy isn't a miserable bugger like his Dad," Bert told Al, "A little lad to be proud of, he is."

They spent a happy time at the swings with Luke, there were lots of other children there for him to watch, which he loved.

Joan couldn't help herself, she was trying very hard not to be nosy, but she couldn't resist bringing the subject up.

"He does love other children doesn't he?" she said.

"Yes he really does, I'm sure being at nursery and mixing with all the other children helps him to be more sociable too," Louisa agreed.

"So... might it be nice for him to have a little brother or sister?" Joan casually brought up.

"Maybe, one day, who knows?" Louisa knew exactly what Joan was fishing for but much as she loved Joan now, she didn't want to be asked every month if there was any news, which if she gave her the slightest hint that they might sometime try for another baby she had a feeling would happen.

Joan had to be content with this answer for now. The last thing she wanted was to fall out in any way with Louisa, so she wisely said no more on the subject.

**xXx**

They stopped by Bert's restaurant on the way back as invited, and Al helped to carry the buggy down the steps. It was still quite early for lunch, so if Luke had something to eat now, he could have a nap when they got back. Louisa always took Luke's baby bag on the back of the buggy with them wherever they went, so she had a spare bib with her to put on him, and wipes to clean him up afterwards.

Louisa found that she was starving hungry and ordered a tuna salad, Joan had soup, and Luke had a little bowl of pasta that he insisted on feeding himself using his fingers.

As Bert put the tuna salad in front of Louisa, the strong smell of it hit her, and she nearly gagged.

"Oh I'm so sorry Bert, I think I've changed my mind, could I just have some pasta like Luke?" she said, thinking '_that__tuna__smells__very__strong,__I__think__it__might__be__off,__I'm__not__chancing__it'_

Finally they headed back home, where Joan volunteered to get Luke changed and put him down for a nap. Louisa gratefully accepted her offer and sat down for a few minutes in the easy chair in the lounge. She suddenly felt really tired after their walk, she supposed that her busy term at school was still catching up with her. Once Luke was settled, Joan joined her as they planned the finishing touches for the tea party. Joan had made another of her beautiful cakes, this time in the shape of a number one, made with a special cake tin. Then she'd decorated it and piped 'Happy Birthday Luke, 1 year old' onto it. Otherwise they were going to have traditional sandwiches and finger foods.

They weren't having too many people coming round. Jenny was popping in while her boys were at football club, Pauline was going to call in after work, but Roger Fenn couldn't make it because he was working. Louisa understood, they had recently seen everyone at the Christening anyway.

They decide to get the food done while Luke was still napping, it would be far easier. Finally everything came together, Luke woke up, Jenny arrived, then Pauline, and so it was really just Martin they were waiting for – she hoped that today of all days there would be no emergencies.

**xXx**

"Ellingham," Martin sighed as he answered the phone.

He'd thought they were done for the day, and had let Pauline go early because she wanted to get changed before coming up to the house. Lord alone knows why, a one year old wasn't going to notice what she was wearing after all, he thought to himself. Martin didn't understand that women dress for other women a lot of the time, and Pauline wanted to look her best in front of Jenny and Louisa.

"No, that doesn't count as an emergency, call back tomorrow and make an appointment with my receptionist." Martin was brusque to the point of rudeness on the phone, but he really wanted to be home on time today. Whatever impression he may have given Louisa, he didn't want to miss Luke's birthday party. He quickly locked up, took his things to the car, and drove the short distance home before any other village idiot could make it to the surgery.

**xXx**

Martin got home to find everyone in the garden – it was a lovely sunny day for a change.

"Make sure Luke has his sun protection cream properly applied and put his sun hat on," Martin sternly told Louisa.

"He has got sun cream on, but you try getting him to keep his hat on," Louisa replied. Even with it done up under his chin, Luke pulled at it until it came off, he didn't like the feel of it at all. It was a shame because it looked very sweet on him. But he was having none of it.

"We'll just stand in the shade instead, suits me better anyhow," Louisa told Martin. The hot weather was making her feel quite queasy, maybe it was something she had picked up at Bert's, curse the man. The last thing she needed was a tummy upset, having managed to avoid them at school all term.

Martin brought Luke's playpen out into the garden, and put it in the shade so that he could go in it for a while. He put some of his new toys in it too.

"He'll be happy in there for about, ooh, five minutes, tops, I should think," replied Louisa.

"Well five minutes is all I need to just say hello to you," Martin replied. "Then I expect Joan or Jenny or Pauline will be happy to hold him for a while. We can't let him loose in the garden, he'll either eat half the flowers or start digging them up."

"That's our boy," Louisa agreed, giving Martin a hug and kiss.

"I'll be back in a minute, I'm just going to get changed," Martin told her, disappearing into the house.

Sure enough, Luke very soon got bored in the playpen, so Joan and Pauline picked him up, and then helped him to walk around, holding onto both his hands, which he loved.

"It is his birthday after all, so I think we can spoil him a bit today," Joan declared, happy to devote herself to keeping him amused.

Louisa and Jenny were chatting about holidays, Jenny was telling her about their holiday home in France that they'd bought, when Louisa said,

"I think maybe I'm going to go indoors for a minute, it's a bit hot out here for me, and I feel a bit rough actually. Blast Bert's restaurant, bet he gave us leftovers because it was on the house"

"Are you alright, I'll get Martin..." Jenny said, concerned.

"No! For goodness sake don't do that, he'll only make a fuss, and actually it's probably more to do with me being due on any time now. I've told him that this is how I get when it's my time of the month, and that it was nothing to do with the IUD, but of course he wouldn't listen, as usual," Louisa grumbled as she headed indoors, annoyed at feeling crap for Luke's birthday party.

She was stopped in her tracks by Martin re appearing from the house.

He was wearing a very smart, short sleeved, open neck shirt, in white but with a slight grey stripe to it, with _no_ tie, and a pair of very smart but casual cotton chino trousers in grey. To complete the outfit he had a pair of Navy deck shoes on. It all fitted him perfectly. He still looked very smart, but much more relaxed. However he seemed a little self conscious to Louisa.

Louisa went up and kissed his cheek.

"Wow, you look _fantastic,_" she told him, running her hands across his shoulders appreciatively.

"Really, you're sure?" Martin asked her, rather embarrassed. His tailor hadn't seemed at all surprised by his request for some suggestions for more casual attire, and had immediately suggested the outfit he was now wearing. He'd been rather surprised by the chap saying "I'm sure that _Mrs_ Ellingham will like it_" _but then he supposed that he'd noticed his wedding ring.

The tailor had been more than helpful when Louisa had rung them explaining her dilemma. She'd got the name of the tailor from Martin's suit label, and then she'd looked them up on the internet.

"What sort of outfit had you in mind for Doctor Ellingham, Madam? We usually find that, in most cases, if the wife is umm... _appreciative_ of the new image, the gentleman concerned will soon accept the changes, and in fact embrace them whole heartedly."

Louisa had pretty much described the outfit that Martin was now wearing, she'd felt that it was a reasonable compromise for him to accept initially. The fact that it came from his usual tailors meant that he knew the outfit would be of excellent quality and fit, making it easier for him to accept. If she'd bought him something from a high street store, chances are it wouldn't have fitted his big frame, and he would have instantly rejected it. So although she had no doubts that the price of this outfit would make her eyes water if she knew, she thought it was worth it. After all, he very rarely bought new clothes.

The tailor had been delighted, Doctor Ellingham been easy to convince in the end, and what with the new suits, shirts, ties, underwear, white tuxedo and the new casual outfit, the bill was more than the normal amount that he spent. And there was the strong likelihood of more orders to come, because he was pretty certain that Mrs Ellingham would be able to persuade him to order at least some of the other colour combinations for the casual clothing that she had mentioned to him.

**xXx**

Everyone gathered in the kitchen for the birthday tea, Luke in his highchair, enjoying feeding himself with all the different finger foods that he was allowed to have, just dropping the food he wasn't so keen on over the side of his tray onto the floor.

Finally, it was time to light the candle on his cake, and sing 'Happy Birthday' to him, which he thought was very funny, Mummy sung to him a lot anyway, and he liked her voice so he joined in by banging his spoon on his tray. He didn't understand why he couldn't touch the pretty candle, or why everyone blew at it and it disappeared. He very much enjoyed eating a small piece of cake though, and managed to get it in his eyelashes, and eyebrows as well as his hair this time.

**xXx**

Finally Jenny and Pauline made a move to go home, it was Luke's bath time, which he was badly in need of. Martin and Louisa both joined in with his bath time, as a special treat for the birthday boy, while Joan cleared up downstairs. She was happy to leave them to be together, she had spent all day with Luke after all.

Finally, Luke was tucked up in his cot, soon asleep after his busy, exciting day.

They went back downstairs, and cuddled up together on the settee.

"He is a very special little boy, isn't he? I think we were very clever indeed to make him," Louisa told him. Martin always felt like a big bear to her, and it was lovely being in his arms where she felt all cosy.

"I suppose you could say that," Martin agreed.

"And I love your new clothes, but I think that maybe I'll have to test them later," Louisa told him.

"Test them?"

"Yes, to see how easily they come off," Louisa hugged him tighter as she said this.

"Oh right, I see. Well I shall be complaining to the tailor if they fail your test," Martin told her slyly, cuddling her back. She always felt so soft, and fitted into his arms perfectly he felt.

Joan came into the lounge a little bit later to find them both fast asleep on the settee.

"They're never going to have another baby if they carry on like this, working too hard and not even making it to the bedroom," she sighed to herself,

**xXx**

The following morning, as they all sat down to breakfast, as Louisa was feeding Luke his porridge, she suddenly felt a bit sick and rushed to the sink just in case, heaving.

"Are you alright?" asked Martin, wondering what the matter was.

Louisa was still heaving into the sink, so he surmised that the answer was 'no'. She couldn't really be sick as she hadn't actually eaten anything yet.

Finally the sensation passed, and as she sat back down, Martin checked her over despite her protests that she was OK.

"Bloody Bert, must have been something I ate there, I didn't feel right yesterday either," she said as she sipped the glass of water that Martin had fetched for her. "But then I had the same pasta as Luke, so why isn't he ill too?"

"Well, I shall certainly be checking out the hygiene standards at his restaurant," Martin stated angrily.

"God, the last time I felt this rough was when I was… pregnant ..." Louisa looked up at Martin, a sudden shocking thought crossing both their minds at the same time.

"Could you get your oh so wonderful spreadsheet and bring it here?" Louisa asked Martin, trying to remember exactly when her period was due and if she was actually late.

Louisa tried to give Luke the rest of his porridge, but the smell of it just made her heave again. He didn't mind for the moment, he was happily dibbling his spoon and fingers in it, and she gave him a piece of her toast to chew on too.

Martin returned with a print out of the menstrual cycle spreadsheet, and put it on the table in front of them both.

"Well, with a 28 day cycle, your period would have been due on the 11th, but as your cycle varies between 28 – 32 days, you might only have been due yesterday or today. That's why neither of us has picked up on you being late yet."

"I can't be... we've used a condom every time since I had the IUD removed,, although of course there have been quite a few times if you think about it, especially at the ball when you were so..., but even that time after the Ball, you know... in the morning... when we were half asleep and nearly got carried away, we did still use a condom when I reminded you. No, it must just be a tummy upset or me feeling queasy because my period is due," Louisa tried to reason.

Martin studied his spread sheet further.

"Well you most likely would have been ovulating at around the time of the Midsummer Ball if it was a 28 day cycle, so I suppose it could just be possible...nothing is 100% safe after all," he pointed out, looking up at her. "So...umm... best we find out one way or the other, pregnancy tests are very accurate from a very early stage these days. Would you rather come up to the surgery for me to do a test, or shall I bring one home at lunch time?"

"Well I'm dropping Luke at the nursery today, so I suppose I could call in on the way back, but aren't you fully booked Martin?"

"As the doctor's wife you get priority treatment over all other patients. My surgery, my rules. I'll tell Pauline she's to send you in next when you come, and err, I'll need a urine sample obviously," he said, handing her a sample bottle that he fetched from his medical bag.

Having assured himself that Louisa's sickness had passed for now, and leaving her munching on a piece of dry toast with strict instructions to contact him immediately if she felt any worse, or didn't feel able to make it to the surgery, he headed off for work.

"Don't fuss Martin, I'll be fine," she told him.

**xXx**

"When my wife comes to the surgery in a little while, please ensure that she is the next patient you send in. Whoever happens to be next can wait. And hold any calls, no interruptions whatsoever whilst she attends. And if she phones, put her through to me immediately, is that understood?" Martin barked at Pauline as he walked through to his surgery, completely ignoring the waiting patients as usual.

"And Good Morning to you too, lovely little birthday party for Luke wasn't it?" she called out to him, but Pauline was already talking to a closed door. '_He__really__ought__to__learn__some__manners.__Iif__he__can__be__civil__at__home__like__he__was__yesterday,__then__surely__he__can__be__civil__at__work.__Maybe__he__and__Louisa__have__had__a__row,__and__that's__why__his__face__looks__even__more__like__thunder__than__usual'_she thought to herself, sighing loudly.

**xXx**

Louisa felt better once she was outside in the fresh air, pushing Luke in his buggy to the nursery. She couldn't believe that maybe, yet again, they had had a contraceptive failure – wasn't she ever going to be able to choose exactly when she wanted to get pregnant, was the decision always going to be made for her? But at least this time it would be very different, she was with Martin now, he would be there for her however things turned out.

Louisa dropped Luke off with the staff at nursery and wished them good luck with his stubborn streak – he had not been at all happy just now when she'd stopped him from pulling the loo roll in the downstairs cloakroom- she hadn't realised that the door wasn't closed properly and he was in there in a flash while she was getting the buggy ready. He'd thought it was a wonderful game, giggling and laughing to himself as he quickly pulled out yards of it, it was now all over the floor, and she would have to try to rewind it when she got back.

"Hi Pauline, thanks for Luke's birthday present and card, it was really kind of you. He'll have great fun learning to do the shape sorter," Louisa smiled at Pauline as she walked into Martin's surgery.

"That's alright. So, what brings you here today then that the Doc couldn't do at home?" Pauline asked her, with everyone else in the waiting room listening for her answer. Perhaps it hadn't been such a good idea to come to the surgery, Louisa thought, but she just wanted to know, and Martin couldn't always be sure to get back at lunchtime if something else cropped up.

"Oh… umm..just a bit of a check up, that's all," Louisa replied evasively.

Luckily just then the surgery door opened, and Mrs Poustie came out, with Martin shouting after her,

"Pauline, take the usual bloods for Mrs Poustie."

Pauline jumped up, and nodded to Louisa.

"You can go in now," as she ushered Mrs Poustie to her Phlebotomy 'clinic'.

Louisa walked in, closing the door behind her.

"How are you feeling?" Martin asked, as he took her pulse and then her temperature.

"Better now, having a walk in the fresh air helped I think," Louisa told him.

"Well, all seems normal...so have you got your sample?" he asked her.

"I sure have," Louisa told him, handing it over from her bag and biting her lip nervously.

She watched intently as Martin did the test, and then they both waited, looking at each other, and then back at the test. Eventually it was ready.

"It's negative," Martin told her.

"Negative! I'm not pregnant then?" Louisa said to him, surprised.

"Well, it is possible to get a false negative but tests nowadays are pretty accurate even before a missed period, so I'd say it's unlikely you are pregnant, but we can do another test in a couple of days to check again if your period still hasn't started. In the meantime I think we'd better assume that you have a bit of a tummy upset and I'll give you something to ease those symptoms," Martin told her.

"Oh. Right. I see." Louisa wasn't sure what she felt now, she'd been convinced she was pregnant and had been feeling rather cross about it.

"So if I can, I'll pop back home at lunchtime and see how you are then hmm?" Martin suggested. His face gave away no indications of how he felt, relieved or otherwise as far as Louisa could tell, but she was aware of his waiting room full of patients, so she knew that this was not the time to quiz him.

"Yes, OK, see you then hopefully." Louisa kissed his check, but it felt strange kissing him when he was being the doctor in his surgery, it was almost as if it was a 'forbidden' area.

Louisa walked back out through the waiting room, managing to avoid Pauline's eye, and hearing Martin call out,

"Next patient!" in his usual abrupt manner.

About an hour later, Pauline rang through to Martin and told him,

"Mrs Ellingham on the phone for you."

"Right, put her through, and _you_, just shut up a minute," he said, putting his hand up to stop his patient who was in the middle of a very long winded explanation of his very minor symptoms of indigestion.

"It's OK Martin, we won't need to do another test, false alarm, I've just got my period, that's why I felt so grotty I guess. Sorry for all the unnecessary drama," Louisa told him, knowing that he wouldn't be able to say much as he was with a patient.

"Ah right, well, that's that query solved then. OK, See you later," he replied succinctly.

**xXx**

Martin walked into their kitchen at lunch time, expecting to find Louisa in the kitchen, busy working at the table as usual. But instead he found her in the lounge, curled up on the settee, looking at the photo albums of Luke when he was a new born baby.

She looked up at Martin and burst into tears.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think I wanted another baby yet, but then when I thought I was pregnant it didn't seem so bad after all, and now that I'm not pregnant I wish I was...all in the space of a morning, and I'm not making any sense at all am I? I'm being all hormonal and illogical...you must think I'm crazy."

Martin had sat next to her and pulled her close to him so that she was crying and talking into his chest.

"Actually, I think I sort of feel the same, if you can believe that," Martin told her, hardly believing it himself. He'd been surprised at just how disappointed he'd felt at the negative test.

Louisa pulled away and looked up at him in shock.

"What, you mean, you'd have been pleased if I had been...?"

"Well if you recall, I did suggest that we should just 'go for it' didn't I? So I thought that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing if it had just happened anyway," Martin tried to explain.

"How many condoms have you got left, Martin?" Louisa asked him.

"Quite a few, you talked about waiting until next year after all," Martin replied, wondering why she wanted to know.

"Well perhaps you can take them into your surgery and hand them out to all the horny young teenagers that come to see you instead," Louisa told him. "Be a shame to waste them, because we aren't going to be needing them from now on."

"Oh...right... I see." Martin wasn't quite sure what he was letting himself in for, but he thought that it might be fun along the way anyhow – more baby making practice was what came to _his_mind in the first instant.

**xXx**

That afternoon when Martin returned to work, Pauline was pleased to see that the thunderous look seemed to have lifted from Martin's face after his visit home at lunch time.

"Aww they must have made up after their row, now maybe he'll be back to his normal rude self rather than the _extra_horrid, rude version we had this morning," she thought to herself, wondering how on earth Louisa put up with him.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of****Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**High Days and Holidays - Chapter 13**

"You haven't forgotten about Louisa's birthday next month, have you Martin?" Joan asked him one evening.

Louisa was out with some of her colleagues from school for a few drinks in the pub, to keep in touch during the long summer break – in other words to catch up on all the gossip. Joan had come to babysit in case Martin was called out.

"Of course I haven't forgotten, it's on my spreadsheet of important dates," Martin replied.

"So, how are you planning to celebrate, and what are you going to give her as a present?" Joan queried.

"What do you mean?" Martin wasn't really paying attention to Joan, she'd followed him into his study where he was researching a very interesting bowel disease case. Martin found it fascinating just how much you could tell from a stool sample, as the very graphic illustrations he was studying showed.

"Are you taking her out, buying her flowers or chocolates, giving her a nice card, spoiling her in some way for her birthday?" Joan was getting exasperated with him now.

"Oh, I'll probably just cook something for her here at home," Martin replied.

"You mean more or less the same as every other night then. For goodness sake, do you even know the meaning of the word 'romantic' Marty?"

Joan always worried that her nephew would get too immersed in his work, especially now that he had his surgical clinics as well. That was why she was always so supportive of Louisa when she pushed Martin to be more social and extend his boundaries.

"Being 'romantic' is just an excuse for people to cash in by selling overpriced half dead flowers, chocolates full of empty calories and tacky slushy poetry in commercialised pieces of card that some people deem necessary to prove their feelings to another person. It's not my style and Louisa knows that," Martin told Joan firmly.

"Alright, I didn't really mean flowers and chocolates, I just meant a gesture of some sort. You _can_ do it when you try can't you?" Joan replied. Louisa had shown her the beautiful diamond necklace that Martin had given her at the Midsummer Ball. But Joan was very aware that Martin would never have gone to any ball at all in the first place if Louisa hadn't pushed him.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," said Martin replied absently mindedly, as he concentrated on the information he had found.

"Hmm well remembering birthdays is important to women, so whatever your style may be, don't forget the date - August 14th, exactly a month after Luke. Take her out, spoil her, you know I'm always happy to babysit, and Louisa will still be on holiday from work after all," Joan told him. She wanted to make sure that they made the most of any opportunity for some romantic, loving time together, otherwise she worried that the workaholic couple would never get round to any baby making.

**xXx**

Louisa was having a good time with her work colleagues at the pub. Much as she loved Martin, and was very happy at home with him and Luke, it made a nice change to get out and have a laugh and a joke with some different people. Emma was there too, she found it refreshing to be with people with an intelligence level greater than the weevil level of her partner Joe Penhale, and had been telling jokes, some of which had been quite rude and smutty, but very funny. Louisa knew that Martin wouldn't have found them funny at all, especially the 'doctor' ones. He didn't have a very developed sense of humour, and couldn't see the point of jokes.

"Not having your usual glass of wine then Louisa?" Paul Blake asked her. Louisa just had an orange juice in her hand.

"No, it's really not worth drinking when you've got a toddler who wakes you up early in the morning, I'm afraid," Louisa told him quite truthfully.

"Ah yes, I remember that well with my boy Harry when he was that age." Paul had a six year old son at Louisa's school, he was a single parent who had thrown himself wholeheartedly into school life, becoming a governor, and helping with various activities. His wife had come out as a lesbian, leaving him and Harry for another woman. It had caused quite a scandal and a lot of gossip at the time, and Louisa had been very supportive and sympathetic to him. He thought that Louisa was a wonderful woman who was wasted with someone like Martin who didn't appreciate or deserve her. She probably only married him because of the baby, in his opinion.

"I thought that now Luke is walking, he'd get more tired and sleep in a bit longer, but not a bit of it," Louisa told him.

Luke was now officially a toddler, he had recently taken his first proper steps. It made Louisa quite sad in a way because it meant that he was no longer a little baby. He'd taken his first steps for Martin of course. Martin had been delighted in his own understated way, he'd assumed that he would probably be at work and miss out when Luke decided to first walk on his own, but Luke had other ideas. He saved his moment of glory to toddle to Martin, he'd ignored Louisa and Joan's efforts at encouraging him to walk on his own until his Daddy was there, he just adored Martin. It was the same with all his mischievous, naughty little ways. Iif Daddy told him off it was far worse for him than if it was Mummy or Grannie, he _hated_ it if Martin was cross with him and told him off. When Martin had found him pulling all the DVD's out of the rack in the living room, he'd firmly told him 'No', picked him up and moved him away from it. Luke had cried, but had not gone straight back to try it again as he often did when Louisa told him 'No' to something. Louisa thought it all very unfair, she spent the most time with Luke, but Martin seemed to have the most influence over him.

"So, are you enjoying the holidays Louisa, are you going away anywhere with the good doctor?" Paul asked her, knowing full well that the Doc never went away on holiday.

"Yes the holidays are great, and no, we aren't going away anywhere, Martin's far too busy," Louisa replied. "How about you?"

"I'm taking Harry to Disneyworld in Florida, he's so excited, he never stops talking about it," Paul told her, thinking '_Can't see the Doc ever taking his son to Disneyworld, Louisa will be quite jealous I think, shows her what a great father I am'._

"Yes, Harry told me at school, he's certainly very excited about it, he's very lucky," Louisa replied, thinking _'Florida in August will be very hot, I couldn't cope with that, wouldn't suit us at all'._

Sally Chadwick the school secretary was telling them all about her latest holiday, this time to Turkey rather than Ibiza. She'd met a gorgeous younger man – 'toyboy' was the term most of the other staff were using to describe him. At least she hadn't had another tattoo done this time, not after Martin had finally completed the dermabrasion for her. She was talking about sending money out to her Turkish boyfriend so that he could join her in Cornwall, and the others were trying to tactfully point out to her that there was a very strong possibility that she wouldn't see him or her money ever again if she did send it to him, and that if by some faint chance he did ever come, he would find it very difficult to settle in a small remote Cornish village anyway.

After a few drinks, and once all the good gossip had been related, most people decided to call it a day and decided to make their way home.

Paul offered to walk Louisa home, and although she insisted it wasn't necessary, he still walked along with her.

Martin had just returned from being called out and met them as they walked up to the front door. He wasn't at all happy to see Paul with Louisa. Martin had taken an instant dislike to him that time Paul had tackled him in the street about why he didn't think Louisa should be the Head teacher.

"Well, good night Louisa, enjoy the rest of the holidays," Paul said to Louisa as he walked off.

"Yes, thanks, enjoy your trip to Florida, Paul," Louisa replied.

Martin didn't say anything as he walked into the house with his medical bag. Louisa couldn't see in the dark, but his face was wearing his 'thunder' expression.

Joan greeted Louisa, offering to make her a cup of tea before she went back home to her farm, as it wasn't that late in the evening. She was keen to hear all the gossip that Louisa had picked up at the pub.

"Luke's been fine, Martin's been called out... oh you're back Marty, would you like a cuppa too?" Joan called out to him.

"No thanks, it's a bit late for me, keeps me up at night," Martin said, but he did come into the kitchen with them, his face still rather thunder like. He didn't like Paul walking Louisa home, even though he knew there was nothing to it.

"Thanks Joan, a cuppa would be lovely. We had quite a laugh tonight, it made a change, it was so nice to catch up with all the staff and hear what they've been up to," said Louisa as she went up to Martin and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"So you've been out on a call, nothing too serious I hope?" she asked him, knowing that he very often couldn't tell her much because of patient confidentiality.

"Possible stroke, so I called an ambulance and sent them on their way to hospital," he told her briefly, sitting down at the kitchen table with the women as they sat with their drinks, Louisa filling Joan in on all the gossip that she'd picked up that night. Martin found himself listening in despite himself.

"Sally hasn't been the same since her hubby Brian left her and went off with a younger woman. Going off on these holidays, picking up younger foreign men and having affairs with them, deluding herself that they are actually interested in her. Of course all they're really interested in is fleecing her for any money they can get, it's all rather sad really," Joan said, after Louisa had told her about Sally Chadwick's latest holiday adventure.

Then they started talking about Paul Blake, and Martin listened in a bit more intently.

"It was a real shame about him and Debbie, I didn't see it coming at all," Louisa told Joan. "He's such a lovely man too."

Martin snorted a little at this, then turned it into a cough as the women looked at him.

"No, well it must be a hell of a shock for any man when his wife goes off with another woman," Joan agreed.

"What do you mean, 'goes off with another woman?" Martin asked, confused.

"After being married to Paul for ten years and having a son together, Debbie realised that she was a Lesbian, she came out as being gay, and went off with a woman called Cassandra to live in the New Forest area. Must be about two years ago now, didn't you hear about it at the time Martin?" Joan asked him.

"I don't listen to gossip and idle chitter chatter," Martin told her pompously.

"Well you are now," Joan pointed out.

"No I'm not, I'm off to bed actually, I have a busy day tomorrow. I'll leave you in peace to continue your gossiping," Martin said as he got up from to table and left the room.

The two women giggled together at him, and then Joan said,

"I'd best make a move myself, it's been good to hear all the news," as she gathered her things up and headed for the door.

"Thanks again for babysitting Joan, bye for now."

**xXx**

Louisa climbed into bed and snuggled up to Martin. He didn't think it was worth sleeping in the other bedroom now as he thought it unlikely that he would get any more calls as he was only on call until midnight,

"So, you enjoyed your evening out then?" Martin asked her.

"Yes, it made a nice change, and it was good to see everyone," Louisa replied.

"Do you find that you get bored at home then in the holidays?" Martin asked her.

"No! Oh no, I'd hate going out all the time, but just now and again it's fun, after all I usually see everybody at work every day, so I do miss all that in the long summer break. You might not like to gossip, but most normal people do Martin, it's human nature," Louisa told him.

"So, this Paul, his wife turned out to be gay, after they'd been married ten years and had a baby together?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, he was devastated, poor man, he found it very hard to accept, naturally. Apparently it's called 'late-blooming lesbianism', and it's quite common nowadays as women are becoming more empowered and less afraid to reveal their true feelings. I felt so sorry for Paul though, and Harry too, their son, but he's coped pretty well, all things considered, probably because Paul has devoted himself to Harry. He works from home now, he's an accountant, so he can work whatever hours suit him best really," Louisa explained.

"Maybe he wasn't able to satisfy his wife sexually and that led her to explore other avenues," Martin mused.

"Martin! How can you say something like that! There's a lot more to it than that I'm sure, it's not just about sex," Louisa was shocked by his deduction. Martin was still pretty old fashioned and chauvinistic in his views at times.

"What? It's simply a logical hypothesis, however I do admit that analysing Lesbian tendencies may well be outside my area of expertise," Martin said.

"Hmm. Well, I hope that satisfying _your_ wife sexually isn't outside your area of expertise Martin," Louisa told him as she started to run her hand to the relevant area.

However they were interrupted by Martin's phone ringing. He sighed as he reluctantly reached over to answer it.

"Ellingham. Well can't you get someone else? I'm only on call for another 15 minutes," he queried. "I see. Ok, well give me the details and I'll attend immediately," Martin quickly wrote down an address.

"Sorry Louisa, there's no one else who can take the call within a reasonable distance. It's a baby with a high fever and a rash, so I have to attend," he explained.

"Of course you do," Louisa said, handing him his clothes immediately, remembering only too painfully when Luke was ill with similar symptoms. Martin was gone within a minute, throwing his clothes on as he left.

**xXx**

"Sally Chadwick." Pauline called out her name for her to go in to see Martin next.

"What's the matter with you?" Martin asked, looking up at her curiously as he remembered Joan and Louisa's conversation the previous night. Luckily his call out to the baby had not been anything serious after all, much to his relief.

"Ooh, umm... well it's a bit embarrassing actually." Sally was already quite a pink colour.

"No it isn't, I'm your Doctor, you can tell me anything," Martin replied coolly. It was his standard answer to the 'embarrassment' issue that came up repeatedly.

"Well, I've been on holiday to Turkey you see..." Sally started.

"You weren't stupid enough to have another tattoo were you, after we spent all that time removing the last one?" Martin asked, horrified.

"No, no of course not, I wouldn't be that silly," Sally replied.

"So, what is it then? I do have a waiting room full of patients you know," Martin told her impatiently.

"It's this," Sally showed him, lifting up the bottom of her blouse to show him. "I had my Belly Button pierced, I think it's got infected and now I can't take the ring out and it's really sore."

"Good God, woman, what on earth made you have that done?" Martin asked her incredulously.

"Well, my Turkish boyfriend said he thought it would be really sexy, so I had it done out there," Sally told him.

"Are you completely insane? As I told you last time when you had that ridiculous tattoo, you run the risk of hepatitis, and HIV as well as all the usual nasty infections by letting an unqualified charlatan pierce your flesh with some unsterile implement, all for the sake of a ridiculous notion that it will somehow enhance your sexual attraction. Well done, another complete waste of my time."

"I'm sorry doctor, it seemed like such a good idea at the time, now I don't know what came over me," Sally told him sheepishly.

"Lie on the couch and lift up your blouse just a little so that I can examine the wound," Martin instructed her while putting some rubber gloves on.

Sally did as she was told, and Martin examined her.

"Hmm, I think you will need to make an appointment for my surgery clinic, it's now deeply embedded and infected. I'll dress it, give you some antibiotics to take in the meantime, and I'll also take a swab to make sure it isn't a resistant infection, you can never be sure with something contracted abroad." Martin was, as usual, thorough and efficient, whatever his personal opinion of the circumstances.

"Thank you Doctor," Sally said.

"Is there anything else that I should be aware of?" Martin thought back to the conversation between Joan and Louisa about the nature of Sally's relationship with her 'toyboy'.

"In what way?" Sally asked him.

"Well, I assume that if you had this ...this procedure done because your umm...boyfriend thought it was 'sexy', it is therefore likely that you have been intimate with him – yes? So were you practicing safe sex, using a condom? Have you any other symptoms that I should be aware of?"

Sally was mortified, and wished that the floor would open up and swallow her. However, she had had a niggling worry, so as Doctor Ellingham had brought the subject up she managed to say,

"Well, since you ask, it does sting a bit when I spend a penny," Sally admitted.

Martin passed her a sample pot saying to her,

"Well we'd better run some tests then, I'll need a urine sample, and I'll get Pauline to take some bloods too."

"Thank you Doctor." Sally left the surgery relieved that at least she was being checked out thoroughly. He really was a very good doctor, if you could just get over his abruptness and rude manner, she thought to herself, but how on earth Louisa put up with him at home she just couldn't imagine.

Martin smiled a rueful smile to himself – by listening to gossip he had been pre-warned enough to question his patient a little further, possibly preventing her from developing a full blown nasty STI. So gossip could be useful – now there was a novel thought for him.

**xXx**

As they went to bed that evening, Louisa reminded Martin of their conversation from the previous evening.

"Any chance of showing me the area of expertise we talked about last night?" Louisa asked him.

"Which area might that be then, I'm an expert in so many after all," Martin felt relaxed enough to joke with her.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about Martin." Louisa teased him.

"Well maybe I need a reminder," Martin teased her back.

"Is your memory starting to come back now?" she asked him as she ran her hand to the relevant area once more.

"Oh yes, I think you could definitely say that has jogged my memory," Martin said as he revelled in her touch.

"I think it's all coming back to me now," he said and then spent a considerable time showing her all his expertise.

**xXx**

Martin had made sure that Louisa didn't have any doubts before they went ahead the first time that they made love and didn't use any contraceptive.

"Are you sure about this? Because if you aren't really ready we can leave it a bit longer, continue to use protection. We can be pretty confident now that the condoms are adequate after our... umm ...thorough testing of them, so it's not a problem," Martin had told her.

"Why, you're not getting cold feet are you, have you changed your mind? Maybe you don't think we should just 'go for it' anymore?" Louisa had asked him, still finding it pretty hard to believe that Martin really thought that it was a good idea for them to try for another baby.

"No! That's not what I'm saying, I just want you...us… to be sure, before we…well before it's too late, You did say that you had some plans to implement at school first and so on," Martin had replied.

"Well I've decided that maybe you were right, maybe there never will be a 'right time' with work and everything, so let's just see what happens. Probably nothing will happen for ages anyhow, if at all. Maybe Luke was just a one off lucky accident," Louisa had said.

So they had agreed that they would not be using any protection when they made love from now on, but that they were going to be relaxed about it and not worry too much about 'trying' for a baby. If it happened fine, if not, well there was always another month of practicing to enjoy.

Martin couldn't help himself though, he was by habit so meticulous in keeping his spreadsheets that he continued keeping a record of everything, meaning that he was aware of when the best time of the month was for conception. He found it fascinating, and so it became his new project, although he said nothing of this to Louisa. As far as she was concerned, they were just making love whenever they felt like it, which was quite often as it happened, especially as she was so relaxed and enjoying being at home for the summer break.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of****Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Birthday Girl - Chapter 14**

Louisa smiled to herself as she stretched out in bed, feeling very happy with the world. It was her 39th birthday, a Saturday, so Martin didn't have work, and wasn't on call all weekend. She decided not to think about next year's milestone birthday, she could worry about that nearer the time.

She listened as Martin talked to Luke as he got him up and changed him – he never indulged in any kind of baby talk when he spoke to Luke, he simply wasn't capable of it. He was now telling Luke what a disgusting nappy it was, and Luke was finding it very funny, although Martin wasn't.

Finally sorted, Martin brought Luke into their bedroom and handed him over.

"Happy Birthday Louisa, I'll be back in a minute," he went off to the bathroom to wash his hands and then disappeared downstairs.

Louisa happily played with Luke for a few minutes before Martin reappeared with two envelopes and a package.

"These are for you," he said as he handed them over rather shyly.

"Oh thank you Martin," she said as she looked at them.

The first envelope had 'Mummy' written on it, and when she opened it, there was a card saying 'To My Mummy', and was signed 'Love from Luke'. It looked remarkably like Joan's handwriting, with a few scribbles in it too that she had managed to get Luke to put in it as well as scribble all over her kitchen table.

"Mmm…err… that was Joan's idea actually," Martin said rather embarrassed. Joan had left it with him to give to Louisa.

"That's lovely, thank you Luke, you are a very clever little boy," Louisa said as she kissed him. He was sitting on the bed next to her, happily occupied with ripping the envelope. Louisa carefully put the card out of his reach, now opening the second card.

It was another in the series of birthday cards that Louisa called 'The Ugly Hags' - they were prints of pictures of rather ugly old women. Martin was interested in art of all sorts, but he particularly liked this type of painting by the old masters, they were technically brilliant in his opinion. Louisa had been very pleasantly surprised on her birthday last year when Martin had given her a similar card and a book on Victorian house design and architecture, knowing how their Victorian house fascinated her. She hadn't expected him to remember her birthday then, after all it had been just a month after Luke was born, she hadn't known about his efficient spreadsheets then.

This year, as usual, all he had written in the card was 'Martin'. But of course Louisa would keep it, along with the other cards – not that there were very many - that he had given her over the years.

Then she turned her attention to her parcel. She felt quite excited by it, remembering the beautiful necklace that he had given her at the Midsummer Ball, and it hadn't even been her birthday then.

She unwrapped it – it was a book, and the title of it was:

'_Toddler Taming – Helpful Tips for the Older Mother'_

"So you seem to think that I need some help coping with Luke then?" Louisa asked, feeling rather offended.

Martin had been pretty pleased with himself for finding such an appropriate present. He didn't believe in buying gifts just for the sake of it, only if they served a purpose. Louisa's dress had needed a necklace to set it off, so he had bought one for her. Now he had found a relevant, informative book for Louisa, so he had bought it for her. Same thing in his opinion really, diamond necklace, child rearing book, both appropriate gifts that served a purpose.

"Well he shows every sign of being quite a determined, strong minded little individual, so I thought this book might prove useful," Martin explained.

"Oh. Right. Yes, I suppose he does," Louisa said as she put the book down, deciding that it wasn't worth getting upset about. She certainly didn't expect diamonds every time, and she supposed it did show thought of some sort.

"And we are going out to dinner tonight, Joan's having Luke for us, it's all been arranged," Martin informed her.

"That's lovely, I'm looking forward to it already," Louisa told him as she kissed him.

"Right well, I'll just have my shower and get dressed, if you're alright with Luke for a minute."

As Martin disappeared into the shower room, she knew he wouldn't take too long getting ready. Louisa was pleased to see that Martin had put his casual clothes out to wear today – it was still his only casual outfit, so far she had not been able to persuade him to order any more. She was working on it though. He had received several positive comments about his new look, but as Martin wasn't very good at accepting compliments, it made him feel rather uncomfortable.

"Your Daddy says you're determined, did you know that Luke Ellingham?" Louisa told him as she put her fingers into his mouth to retrieve the pieces of envelope that he was chewing. Luke had already decided that they weren't nice to eat after all, and for once didn't object to her fishing them out of his mouth.

They sat round the kitchen table having their breakfast, Luke as usual in his high chair, waving his feeder cup around and occasionally drinking from it. He'd finished his Weetabix, not messing around with it too much today because he'd been hungry. Now however, rather than chewing on his piece of toast, he was enjoying pulling it to pieces, chewing on the pieces and then taking them out of his mouth to investigate what they looked like, especially when he poked his finger in the gooey mess. It was keeping him quiet anyhow.

Martin passed Louisa her cup of tea – they usually drank tea in the morning, and they both preferred it made in a proper teapot. It was part of their morning routine, and Martin did it without even thinking now. He also handed her a folic acid supplement to take, as recommended for women trying to conceive or in the early stages of pregnancy. He was determined to look after her right from the beginning in a way that he had not been able to when she was pregnant with Luke, due to her leaving him in complete ignorance of her condition. He still felt incredibly guilty that she had not felt able to confide in him.

Louisa gratefully took a sip of her tea, she always claimed that she wasn't really human until she'd had her first cup of tea in the morning. That with a round of toast with marmalade was all she could usually face first thing.

"Urgh... Martin, what have you done to the tea, it tastes really odd," she exclaimed.

"I haven't done anything, mine tastes fine," Martin replied.

"Did you use different tea or something, it's got a different tang to it," she persisted.

"No, I didn't, I used the same tea as always," Martin insisted.

"Hmm, well maybe the dishwasher didn't rinse the cups out properly or something, I'll make a fresh pot in a minute," Louisa said. She still thought of the dishwasher as an unnecessary extravagance, never having had one before she moved in with Martin, and so she pointed out any faults that she found with it to prove her point. Martin told her that a dishwasher was far more hygienic than using a dirty dishcloth and an old tea towel to do washing up by hand. They still didn't really see eye to eye about it.

To change the subject, Martin handed Louisa her birthday cards that had arrived in the post and by hand, there were quite a few, from friends at school, also Jenny and Chris, Isabel, Roger and Maureen, Paul Blake on behalf of the Governors, even one from Holly, who had been very impressed to see the article about Louisa earlier in the year in The Times, and had decided to 'forgive' her, especially as she was now respectably married to a doctor as well. Louisa read that one very sceptically, she really couldn't imagine a situation where she would ever want to meet up with Holly again.

He watched as she opened them all, but there was one that she left unopened – it had a London post mark.

"You still have another card to open Louisa" Martin pointed out.

"Yes, I know who that one is from, and I'm going to open it later," Louisa told him, putting the card to one side for now. Martin was curious but didn't press her to know who it was from.

"So, what would you like to do today? Your birthday, your choice," Martin told Louisa.

"Let's go for a walk along the coastal path. We could take a picnic, and maybe Luke will have a nap in his buggy a bit later, especially if we let him walk for a while – with his reins on of course," Louisa suggested.

They'd had a bit of a battle getting Luke to wear his first pair of shoes, he didn't like the feel of them at first and tried to take them off as fast as they put them on, but he did finally seem to be getting used to them. Luke loved being out of his buggy and walking, but he would just toddle aimlessly in the wrong direction if they let him, stopping to pick up a stone or a piece of dirt that caught his eye and then try eating it.

"Yes, alright, that sounds like a good idea, it'll be good exercise in the fresh air," Martin agreed. The weather was reasonable, and there shouldn't be too many tourists up on the path, most seemed to prefer clogging up the shops and pubs in the village.

"Cooee, only me." It was Joan as she appeared at the kitchen door.

"Happy birthday Louisa," she said, giving her a hug and kiss then handing a card and present to her, as well as a bunch of flowers from her garden.

"Only a little something, I'm afraid," Joan told her. She couldn't afford big presents on her very tight income. Martin and Louisa were both working on ways that they could help Joan out financially without offending her very strong sense of pride.

"Oh Joan, that's so lovely, thank you very much, I really appreciate it," Louisa said sincerely as she opened the present to find homemade jams and cake. "And the flowers are beautiful, I'll just get a vase for them."

As she disappeared, Joan quickly asked Martin,

"So you are taking her out somewhere nice this evening while I have Luke, aren't you?"

"Yes, don't worry it's all arranged," Martin reassured her.

"Well, I'll be off, better get all my chores done before I look after this young man, have a lovely day Louisa," Joan said to her as she reappeared, then she gave Luke a big kiss, despite him being all sticky from his breakfast. Luke grabbed her top with his sticky hands and made her all mucky, but she just laughed, it didn't worry her.

"Yes well, just make sure you observe all the necessary hygiene arrangements concerning your chickens when you have Luke, wash your hands, and don't let him touch anything, you know how he tries to eat everything," Martin lectured Joan. Luke loved watching Joan's chickens, but Martin was ever vigilant over any possible health risks.

"Of course I will, do you really think I'd take any chances with Luke. Honestly Martin," Joan huffed as she left.

**xXx**

Louisa managed to open her birthday card that she had left for later in private when Martin was busy for a few minutes sorting his post in his study before they went for their walk. It included a letter, she read the contents and gave a big sigh. What the hell was she going to do about this? Martin would be furious, he'd never agree and she felt very torn. She put the card away to worry about later – nothing was going to spoil her birthday, she decided firmly. She'd just have to wait for the right moment to talk to Martin.

As they got ready to go for their walk, Louisa packed Luke's baby bag which she always took out with them, with spare nappies, clothes, wipes, bib etc. Martin noticed that she also put a little bag of her own in, which contained a few tampons.

"Oh, have you started...?" he asked her.

"Not yet, any time now, always best to be prepared, just in case," Louisa told him.

"Ah, right, yes," Martin answered.

"And err, how are you feeling?" he asked, remembering last month when she had been sick at around this time of her cycle, leading them to think that she could have been pregnant – a false alarm as it turned out. Pre menstrual symptoms could be very similar to early pregnancy symptoms as they had discovered.

"Fine, I feel fine, last month we just overreacted to my normal monthly symptoms, Martin, I always feel crap when my period is due, but I just panicked a bit thinking that we'd had a condom failure again," Louisa felt embarrassed remembering the fuss they'd made, rushing to do a pregnancy test. She wasn't going to make that mistake again.

**xXx**

They wandered along the coastal path, the sea breeze blowing all cobwebs away, Luke loving the feeling of the wind although at times it nearly blew him over as he walked along, luckily he couldn't come to any harm on his reins. After having their picnic, and enjoying not having to worry too much about the mess Luke was making as they were outside, they headed back home, Luke going off to sleep in his buggy. Martin rather enjoyed pushing the buggy, they took it in turns especially with some of the hills.

This had been a bit like a dream that Louisa had once had, of a relaxed, casually dressed Martin, enjoying a leisurely time whilst admiring the Cornish seascape. Luckily this time there was no earthquake to shatter the dream.

**xXx**

That evening, having dropped Luke off with Joan, Martin and Louisa went for their meal out. Unbeknown to Louisa, they were going to the same restaurant that Martin had taken Edith to over a year previously. He had found it to be reasonably adequate, and as he didn't go out to restaurants very often he thought that he might as well stick with one that he had been to before. Joan had forbidden him to take Louisa to Bert's or anywhere else in the village.

"Push the boat out for once Martin, take Louisa somewhere special, not just down the road in the village," she'd insisted.

What Martin hadn't realised was that the restaurant had changed hands, and was now an Indian Restaurant – a very good one as it happened, but Martin didn't usually eat curry, because he found that it gave him indigestion. He hadn't really been listening properly when he'd rung to book the table, so he hadn't registered the change of name.

"Oh Martin, this is lovely, I know you don't like curry, but because I love it you've brought me here for my birthday, that is so sweet of you," Louisa exclaimed.

She was delighted and gave Martin a kiss to show her appreciation.

Martin had to quickly choose between two options – admit he'd made a mistake and upset Louisa, or stay for a meal and upset his stomach. Seeing Louisa's happy face, he chose the latter option, hoping that he could pick something relatively simple and bland from the menu.

**xXx**

The following morning, it wasn't Louisa who was feeling queasy, it was Martin who struggled to give Luke his breakfast, because his stomach was upset. He'd tried to stick to the blandest food at the Indian restaurant, but even so, what he did have still upset him, he'd been up half the night with indigestion and it had not been a romantic night at all for them. Luckily as it was his weekend off, he could now recover and take it easy at home.

"You poor thing, can I get you anything – I've always found peppermint tea to be good with an upset stomach," Louisa offered helpfully. She had thoroughly enjoyed her spicy meal, but poor Martin was suffering now.

"We won't go there again, I won't let you do that to yourself just to please me," she told him.

'_Thank goodness for that. Next time I'll make sure I check things out properly before we go anywhere',_Martin thought as he kicked himself for his mistake. Still at least Louisa had enjoyed it.

**xXx**

Louisa was enjoying the last couple of weeks of the holidays, but also part of her was itching to get back to school, there was always something exciting about the beginning of the new school year. For now, she pottered about the house. She put some washing in the machine - there was always washing to be done with Luke around. It took a while because as fast as she sorted the washing into piles, Luke re-sorted it for her, thinking this was a new fun game, toddling off first with one of her bras, which Louisa had to chase after him to retrieve and then a pair of Martin's underpants. She added her usual tablets and fabric conditioner into the drawer - she always used the same ones that were suitable for sensitive skin as she came out in a rash with anything biological or too strong, and she didn't want to take any chances with Luke's baby skin either.

The smell of the tablets suddenly hit her, a really strong, sickly flowery smell, and it was horrible.

"Oh my God, they've changed the smell of the tablets, why do they have to do that, they smell disgusting now," Louisa said crossly, holding a tissue up to her nose to block the smell as she set the machine going.

**xXx**

Martin had gone into work, he'd got over his upset stomach and was back to his normal averagely grumpy self.

Louisa had bitten his head off when he'd asked her again how she was feeling, and if she had started her period.

"Stop fussing Martin! Look what happened before, we jumped to the wrong conclusion, you know my cycle varies from month to month, I'm not one of those '28 days without fail' women. I feel just fine" Louisa told him. It wasn't quite true, she had been feeling a bit 'off', but again, that was normal for her, and she didn't want Martin insisting on another test already.

After dropping Luke off at Nursery, she went into her office at school, there was always so much paperwork to get ready for the new term. It was very quiet with no pupils or other staff around, but it meant that she could get lots of work done. She became very engrossed and didn't notice the time, but it was lunchtime and she suddenly realised that she hadn't had anything to eat.

"Oh gosh, better go and get a sandwich" she thought to herself, a sudden wave of hunger assailing her, making her feel quite nauseous. As she stood up, a familiar feeling washed over her, she suddenly felt very hot, there was a buzzing in her ears, and everything turned black as she passed out.

**xXx**

As luck would have it, Joe Penhale and Emma had just come into the school building, having seen the school door open as they walked by, Emma had some ideas that she had been meaning to run by Louisa. She was also itching to get back to her job, because Joe was driving her insane.

"Louisa!" Emma ran into Louisa's office where she found her passed out on the floor.

"Joe, call an ambulance and then call the Doc," Emma told him.

Joe did as instructed, sending out a priority call. He thought the Doc would be furious if he didn't pull all the stops out for Louisa.

Having just started his lunch break when he got the call, Martin was able to leave the surgery immediately and reached the school just as the ambulance arrived with its sirens blaring and lights flashing– there had been one relatively nearby for a change that had been diverted as Joe had made a police priority call. It meant that a crowd now gathered around the entrance to the school, curious to know what had happened.

"Alright, I'll take charge now, stand back," Martin told Emma and Joe, as he walked into the office.

Louisa was now conscious again, but rather groggy and light headed.

"I'm fine, don't make such a fuss, it's nothing," Louisa tried to tell them all, as the ambulance crew also came in and insisted that they check her out as well as Martin.

This time Martin exploded at her.

"You are _not_ alright, and don't tell me not to make a fuss when you have been found passed out on the floor Louisa. You could have banged your head or hurt yourself in any number of ways. Just let me check you out properly for once, otherwise I shall have to insist that you are taken by ambulance to hospital to be checked out," he barked at her, frustrated by her attitude and worried about her, although he knew by now that fainting really wasn't that unusual for Louisa, and could mean several different things.

Reluctantly Louisa agreed to go to Martin's surgery with him, she certainly didn't want to be carted off in an ambulance. The ambulance crew were happy with this, the checks on her had all been within normal levels, so they concluded that it had been a simple faint and the GP could look after her now, so they went on their way.

"Luke's fine in the nursery for now, yes? Well I came down in my car in case we needed to go to hospital, so let's get you into it," Martin instructed her.

He brusquely said thanks to Joe and Emma, and they locked up the school as they all left. Martin shouted at the crowd of people still standing around,

"Haven't you got anything better to do than stand around and gawp? The show is over, so bugger off back to the pub or wherever else you've crawled out from."

Joe realised that he should really be handling this, crowd control was his forte after all.

"You heard the man, come on now, move it along now, otherwise I shall have to arrest you all for loitering," he shouted at them, in what he believed to be an authoritative manner.

The crowd slowly dissipated.

"Tossers, the pair of them," was heard from several people amongst the crowd.

**xXx**

Back at the surgery, Martin took Louisa in through the back door and made her a sandwich from the supplies that he kept in the kitchen for his lunch. Once she had eaten, Martin took her through to his surgery to check her over.

"Why don't you just let me look after you for once, accept my help, stop being so bloody independent, and let me do a pregnancy test?"

"It's not about being independent Martin, it's about not wanting to get my hopes up and then having them dashed. I felt so disappointed last time when the test was negative, I don't want to feel like that again, so I thought we should leave it a bit longer. After all, we'd be pretty lucky to be successful the first month we tried wouldn't we?" Louisa explained to Martin.

'_Mind you, there had been rather a lot of 'trying', Martin had been pretty enthusiastic in his efforts',_she thought to herself.

"Hmm, I suppose I can see what you're saying, but surely now that you've reached day 33 in your cycle and have passed out, don't you agree that it might be time to risk doing another test?"

"Well I do seem to have developed a hyper sensitive sense of smell and taste too, which could be another sign, so I suppose we could do a test, but then again I haven't been sick, so it could all just be pre menstrual signs," she said, telling him about the tablets for the washing machine.

"Ah yes, and the funny tasting tea," Martin remembered.

"Look, I don't think I can produce a sample just now, and it would mean using your loo and wandering in and out of the waiting room, which is full of your patients as usual. And you've got to get on, so maybe you could bring a test home with you tonight, and we'll do it together then. But it will probably be negative, Martin," Louisa was still psyching herself up not to be disappointed.

"Right. OK. That is probably the most sensible option. So see you this evening then - if you're sure you feel alright now?" Martin said.

"Yes, I'm fine, so bye for now," Louisa said, as she pecked him on the cheek, still feeling that it seemed naughty to kiss him in his surgery. Louisa once again found that when they were in his surgery Martin seemed the professional doctor rather than her husband, and her lover.

Louisa had to brave the stares of all the patients in the waiting room as she walked out, but even they were used to hearing that the Headmistress had fainted again.

"Keep taking them iron tablets," Pauline called out to her as she left.

Martin quickly packed a test in his bag to take home for later as he called out

"Next patient," in his usual terse manner, hoping that the afternoon would pass by quickly for once.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of****Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**The Waiting Game - Chapter 15**

"Yes, what seems to be the problem?" Martin asked without looking up from the notes that he was reading.

"Well it's been over a year now we've been going to that clinic in Truro that you sent us to, and still no baby," Jennie Millinger told him.

"They say it's my fault, low sperm count cos of the steroids, just like you said Doctor Ellingham," Jimmy Millinger said.

"I see. Well they are the specialists in infertility, so I'm not quite sure what you want from me?" Martin asked rather impatiently.

"They've been talking about some procedure or something that might help us, but we don't really understand the leaflets they've given us, so we thought maybe you could explain what it's all about, so we can understand it a bit better," Jennie explained, as she passed the papers over to Martin.

"Ah right, I see. Well I'll try to explain it as simply as I can for you both, Mrs Millinger," Martin said, realising that this could take a while.

He had a full list this afternoon - he was finding that with his surgery clinic taking out at least one afternoon a week, it was putting increased pressure on his appointments on the other days. It didn't look as if he would be able to get home early tonight, much as he wanted to. His eye kept being drawn to his medical bag where he'd put the pregnancy testing kit ready to take home.

"Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection, or ICSI is an in vitro fertilization procedure in which a single sperm is injected directly into an egg. This procedure is most commonly used to overcome male infertility."

Martin explained the procedure to them, using his slow and loud voice that he reserved for particularly thick patients. Even so he saw by the glazed look of incomprehension on their faces that he was going to have to take it down several more levels for them to have any idea of what he was talking about. He sighed as he privately wondered whether it was really a good idea to let a couple with such an obviously low IQ go to such extremes to reproduce. They finally left after half an hour of explanations and diagram drawing from him.

"Thanks Doc, Uncle Jimmy thinks the world of you, says you've been really helpful with some research and stuff for him. Thanks for putting their minds at rest," Pauline whispered as she handed the next lot of patient notes to Martin.

His next patient was Courtney, one of the giggling bevy of teenage girls that regularly shouted 'tosser' at him when he was out in the village.

She wasn't giggling now though.

"I'm late...you know...my monthly. If I'm expecting, my Mum will kill me, and that tosser Ross from the lifeguards don't wanna know me anymore once he got what he wanted from me, and I haven't got any money to buy a pregnancy test."

Courtney now burst into tears, so Martin had to try to be the sympathetic Doctor figure that he struggled with. The best that he could manage was fetching some tissues and saying,

"Sshh, don't cry now. Umm ...let's find out if you are pregnant before you get too upset hmm, and then we can discuss your options if indeed you are."

'_At least she thinks someone else is a tosser now'_, Martin thought to himself as he carried out a pregnancy test for her, once she had disappeared to the loo and re appeared with a urine sample. Luckily it was negative, so all he had to do then was lecture her about safe sex and adequate protection, wondering to himself what on earth they were teaching them in the sexual educations classes at school these days. But her appointment still overran by ten minutes, putting him even further behind in his list. Now he hoped for a quick, simple sore throat or bad cough case to help him catch up a bit, preferably one unrelated to pregnancy. He needed something to take his mind off Louisa and whether or not she was pregnant, not constantly remind him.

However his next patient was Avril Sumpter, heavily pregnant with her fifth child now.

"I've got terrible heartburn Doctor, and none of the stuff Mrs Tishell gave me had any affect at all," she told him.

Martin wondered whether she had an aversion to using contraceptives for some religious reason maybe, or she was careless, and/or her husband simply couldn't keep it in his trousers – possibly it was all of these things. Either way, she'd been at some stage of pregnancy ever since he'd come down to Cornwall it seemed to him.

"Well what do you usually take for it, and shouldn't you be having your check up at the ante natal clinic at the hospital?" Martin thought she probably knew a lot more about the side of affects and problems of pregnancy than almost anyone else anyway.

"Oh I can't be bothered with going all the way to Truro all the time, can't you just give me a prescription for something a bit stronger that's still safe to take when you're expecting Doc?" she told him.

"Try this." Martin quickly wrote out a prescription for her, glad that she was a quick fix patient.

The next patient was Linda Taylor bringing in her three week old baby, she was an older first time Mum and she was worried that he had a bit of a temperature. Seeing such a tiny baby brought back memories to Martin of when Luke was first born. At least now he felt a lot more at ease in handling and examining small babies, he even managed to put the nappy back on quite expertly.

"I've checked him over thoroughly and everything seems normal including his temperature, so just keep an eye on him and bring him back if anything changes," Martin told the mother, a lot more sympathetically than he would have done before he had had Luke. He remembered only too well how Louisa had worried over every little thing with Luke.

The afternoon dragged on, a constant stream of patients passing through his surgery. Finally, later than usual, he sent off the last one, and allowed Pauline to make her way home. Martin groaned as the phone rang.

"Surgery," he answered it wearily.

"Hi Martin, only me," Louisa said.

"Oh, Louisa...are you ringing to say that you've... that you don't need the pregnancy test anymore?" Martin jumped to this conclusion as that was what had happened the previous month.

"No, no not this time, I was just ringing to see if you'd been called away, I can't wait too much longer to give Luke his food," Louisa explained.

"Yes I'm sorry, I've been running late all afternoon, but I'm just on my way home now," Martin replied.

"Ok, I think he can wait a few more minutes, so see you soon then," Louisa said – they always tried to eat together in the evening if at all possible.

**xXx**

As Martin walked in through the front door, he was greeted by his little boy toddling up to him excitedly. Luke was, as always, very happy to see his Daddy. Martin put his medical bag down, and picked him up, carrying him into the kitchen. Luke took this opportunity to examine Martin's tie, it felt nice and silky, perfect for rubbing against his nose, which was only slightly runny.

"You can put him straight into his high chair if you like, supper is all ready to serve up now. So, hectic afternoon then? They were practically queuing out of the surgery door when I went past after collecting Luke from Nursery," Louisa said to him as she put their food on the plates, after giving him a quick 'hello' peck on his cheek.

"You could say that," replied Martin as he strapped Luke in and put his bib on. "How are you feeling now?"

"Fine, I'm fine," Louisa reassured him.

"About your fainting spells, it always seems to be when your blood sugar is low, so I want you to promise me that you'll make sure that you eat regularly from now on, don't skip any meals, don't leave it too long between food breaks, carry a biscuit with you if needs be," Martin instructed her.

"Yes Doctor," Louisa replied sarcastically.

"I'm serious Louisa – do you really want a repeat of today's episode with an ambulance and crowds gathered round?" Martin told her.

"No, I don't suppose I do," Louisa admitted.

"And if it turns out that you are...you know...pregnant, then it will be even more important to keep your blood sugar levels up. Perhaps I should double check you for diabetes symptoms; I don't think I've missed anything..." Martin carried on.

"Martin! Can we please just eat our supper without turning it into a medical session," Louisa told him irritably. He could be such an old woman at times, she thought.

"Mmm, well OK, but we'll talk more later when we do the test and see what the result is." Martin was not going to be fobbed off, Louisa's health was a responsibility he took very seriously.

"Only me," Joan called out at the back door.

"Hi, come in," Louisa called out. "Do you want to join us, we're only just starting our supper?" Martin glared at her, they were already running late, and he just wanted to get on with things, find out what was what, know one way or the other.

"No, I won't stop, I've just come by to make sure you're alright, I hear you caused a bit of a scene today Louisa." Joan had been worried when she'd heard what had happened, but as she knew Martin had taken Louisa home, she assumed that things were now OK.

"Oh it was all a fuss over nothing. You know what Joe Penhale is like, makes a drama out of nothing to make himself feel important and give him something to do. I just had one of my dizzy spells, you know, time of the month and all that," Louisa reassured her.

"Ah right, yes I see, what we women have to go through eh? You men don't know you're born, bloody hormones," Joan commiserated with Louisa. She had half hoped it might be a symptom of something else, but it seemed that was not the case. Well she would just have to keep encouraging them to have romantic nights together, they really couldn't afford to put things off too long at their age after all.

Martin kept quiet, he didn't want to contradict Louisa, and she may well be right about her time of the month, but he didn't like giving Joan the wrong impression even if it wasn't actually a lie. On the other hand, he didn't want lots of questions before they knew anything themselves.

"Well make sure you look after her Martin, however busy you are at the surgery," Joan told Martin firmly.

"Well I would if she would only let me," he responded rather curtly.

"Don't start, Martin," Louisa looked at him warningly.

'_Like that is it'_, Joan thought to herself, '_better leave them to it to sort things out then'_

"OK, well as long as you're sure you're alright, you know I'm always happy to help at any time with this young man," Joan told them as she gave Luke a kiss goodbye, after helping him to take another mouthful of his dinner, most of which ended up in his bib as he smiled back at Joan.

"Thanks Joan, see you then," Louisa replied.

**xXx**

Once they'd finished their meal, Louisa took Luke up for his bath while Martin quickly cleared up in the kitchen – there wasn't too much to do, Louisa always cleared up as she went along, she was pretty organised and tidy on the whole, so for the most part she and Martin got along together well in the kitchen, where they both enjoyed cooking.

Martin went upstairs to the bathroom and watched from the doorway.

Luke was enjoying his bath time, Louisa had given him his plastic stacking cups and various other toys to play with in the bath. She was trying to ensure that he emptied the cups in the bath rather than over the edge onto the floor. Luke was having great fun, his gorgeous naked little body all clean now, laughing and chattering – he was such a happy little boy most of the time. A huge surge of love hit Martin as he watched Louisa with their son.

"He's a very lucky child, Louisa, having you as his mother," Martin told her, entering the bathroom and picking up the towel ready to take Luke out of the bath.

She looked up at him and smiled at the unexpected compliment.

"And having you as his father too," Louisa told him back as she lifted Luke out, not noticing that he still had a cupful of water, which he then tipped onto Martin's lap, in a rather embarrassing area.

Finally Luke was sorted, read to, sung to, cuddled, kissed and tucked up in his cot. Martin thought that no child could feel more loved than Luke. He would certainly never grow up feeling that he was unwanted, despite him being an unplanned baby.

**xXx**

Having changed his wet trousers, Martin and Louisa sat down together on their bed.

"Come on Louisa. I don't think we should put it off any longer," Martin told her. "It doesn't matter if it's negative, because I freely admit that I'm rather enjoying all the trying."

"Yes, so I'd noticed," Louisa teased him.

"And you're not? That's not the impression you've been giving me," Martin told her with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe I'm just a good actress," Louisa replied, kissing him.

"Then I think you deserve several Oscars," Martin said as he returned her kiss.

"Where's the sample pot then, I'll see if I can come up with the necessary goods," Louisa said.

Martin didn't need asking twice, he disappeared off to get the sample pot and the test. He took the opportunity to take the phone off the hook, switch off their mobiles and lock the doors. He felt they deserved a few minutes of no interruptions, and he wasn't on call after all. Joan had already been in, so there was no one else they need worry about.

"Here you are then," he said as he handed it to her, and she disappeared into the en suite bathroom.

"Present for you," she joked as she returned with the pot filled.

"You certainly give me the nicest things," Martin joked back to cover his nervousness. He was pretty sure that Louisa was going to be upset if it was negative again, whatever she said. So was he for that matter, he realised.

He did the test and they waited. To cover his nerves, Martin did his usual trick of waffling on with a medical explanation.

"Pregnancy tests detect the presence of the pregnancy hormone in the body. This hormone is called Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin or HCG. usually this is present from a very early stage of pregnancy and can be detected, however..."

"Martin – shut up!" Louisa told him playfully as she kissed him on the lips, knowing him well enough now to understand how he was feeling.

Finally it was time to look, which they did together.

"Positive. It's positive, you _are_ pregnant Louisa," Martin said, suddenly feeling very emotional. He'd done tests many times before for other people, and had watched in a detached way how they reacted, but now _he_ was experiencing those feelings.

"Wow. Pregnant. Another baby. We're going to have another baby, Martin," Louisa ran her hand to her belly, not quite believing this was happening.

Martin put his hand on top of hers on her belly too. This time he knew about it at exactly the same moment that she did, and it made him feel very privileged and emotional. He took her in his arms in a big bear hug, and buried his face in her neck to hide the tears in his eyes.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Cloud Nine - Chapter 16**

"Wow. Pregnant. Another baby. We're going to have another baby, Martin."

Louisa felt incredibly happy as Martin enclosed her in his arms, and held her tight against his chest. She tried hard not to compare this with how she had felt last time...everything was just so perfect now. But Louisa being Louisa, she found herself tensing up and saying into Martin's chest,

"But it's still very early days, I'm only just pregnant, things could still go wrong..."

Martin didn't let her go though. He knew her well enough now to understand that she was always preparing herself to be disappointed.

"Let's just enjoy this moment hmm? Plenty of time to worry about things like that later," he told her. For him this was one of the best moments of his life.

Louisa let herself relax into his arms again. He was right. There weren't many moments in life as perfect as this.

**xXx**

"21st April – of course we'll have a more accurate date once you've had a dating scan at 12 weeks. As your cycle isn't always 28 days we can't be sure of the exact date of conception," Martin worked out for them downstairs in his study.

"And if they asked me for the dates of when we had sex I would have to give them rather a long list, wouldn't I?" Louisa giggled.

"They shouldn't need to ask you that," Martin said.

"Well Doctor Montgomery, your 'Edith' did," Louisa told him. She'd always had a sneaky suspicion that she was just being nosy and making her feel awkward when she'd asked in her very condescending manner,

"_What__I__need__to__know,__and__this__shouldn't__be__too__difficult__I'd__have__thought__-__when__did__you__have__sex__with__Doctor__Ellingham?"_

It had been highly embarrassing to admit that there had only been two occasions, it hardly gave the impression of a passionate love affair between her and Martin, as she had noted from the smug expression on Edith's face as she had assimilated the information. Slim, elegant Edith versus a heavily pregnant Louisa – it really wasn't hard to understand why Martin was with Edith and hadn't shown the slightest interest in her, she'd felt at the time.

"Hmm, well maybe in your case with the SGA query it was appropriate. I don't know, I wasn't there, was I?" Martin could have bitten his tongue off as soon as the words were out. The last thing he wanted was to re open all the old wounds and hurt.

"No Martin you weren't. If I could go back and change things I would. I'd do everything differently, if I'd known then what I know now. But I can't," Louisa said, sticking her chin in the air defiantly. At the time she'd felt she had no choice - Martin hadn't exactly coming running after her to try to talk her round or persuade her that he wanted to be involved.

Martin tried to lighten the atmosphere again. Now was not the time to start recriminations.

"But it's going to be different this time around. You're going to let me be involved every step of the way, those were my terms when I agreed that we try for another baby," Martin reminded her. He had a horrid suspicion that she would still be very independent and bloody minded, and accuse him of 'fussing' when he tried to look after her.

"Yes I know, and I promise that this time you can be as involved as you want to be, come to every single boring check up if that's what you want." Louisa knew that she owed him that much, even if he was going to drive her mad with his fussing. However she thought the novelty would soon wear off. Sitting around hospitals was mind numbingly boring for the most part, and he was a very busy man after all.

"And you're going to let me carry out my own checks too, let me monitor you properly, tell me _everything_?" Martin persisted.

"Yes Martin, except..." Louisa hesitated.

"Except what?" Martin asked.

"Well, sometimes they do ...you know...intimate, internal examinations, and I'm afraid that's where I draw the line, I'd like to keep some semblance of romance going, even if I am going to be huge and fat," Louisa explained.

"Right, I see, well if that's what you want. And you're going to be pregnant, not fat...well as long as you eat sensibly that is, resist any urges for jelly babies and other empty calories," Martin pointed out.

"Anyway Martin, as I said, it's very early days, let's not get too carried away, let's try to carry on as normal for now. I go back to work soon, and I've got stacks to prepare, you've got your surgery clinic as well as your normal practice work, so let's just get on with things now. I don't want anyone else to know yet. Except Joan. I know we can trust her not to tell anyone else, she'd soon suss it anyway and she'd be hurt not to be told. Although I feel fine and I haven't had any sickness yet which is always the dead giveaway, maybe I'll be lucky and won't get it this time," Louisa said.

"Yes, well, maybe we'll tell her in a few days when we've got used to it ourselves, when it's sunk in properly," Martin agreed, he certainly didn't want anyone else apart from Joan to know their business just yet. He was still pretty incredulous that another little Luke was on the way, and that this was going to be a pregnancy that he was going to be involved with every step of the way, and not be shut out from.

He would also do things very differently if he could only go back in time. He wished that he'd followed his very first instinct when he'd opened the door to Louisa, and had swept her into his arms, had told her how much he loved her and missed her. But he'd been so shocked that he'd just stood there, gawping at her like an idiot. He'd let her walk off, he'd not even invited her in. Even when he'd followed her, he'd blurted out about them getting married, obviously not really wanting to, and had managed to insult her by asking if she was sure that the baby was theirs – what had he been thinking! And her face when he'd told her that it was too late for an abortion – that had sealed things really. He'd made a complete hash of things.

Maybe he would have tried to talk to her again later, but Edith had told him '_Don't__do__anything__hasty,__don't__think__you__have__to__rescue__her,__she's__a__grown__woman,__she's__chosen__to__have__a__baby,__it's__her__choice'_, and at the time that had seemed the calm voice of logic. Louisa hadn't come to him asking for help, she'd simply come to inform him, he'd thought. She obviously hadn't felt it necessary to consult him when she'd first found out she was pregnant, she didn't feel the need to ask his opinion. Why on earth would she want him involved when he'd clearly be such a terrible father after all, he'd felt. Now he realised, now he knew better that just by coming to him, she _had_ been asking for his help, but her stubborn pride had kicked in on seeing Edith sitting in his kitchen, looking very at home. Bloody Edith. If only she hadn't been there. Things might have been so different without her whispering in his ear about Louisa.

Well this time he was going to make sure that he supported and looked after Louisa completely and utterly, right from the very beginning. Now he knew how wonderful it was having a baby, and he was filled with pride, with love, that Louisa wanted, was choosing, to have another baby with him. This time it was no accident, it was their choice to have another baby together.

**xXx**

The next day, as Martin walked into his surgery, Pauline was surprised to see what appeared to be a smile hovering around his mouth, and he actually acknowledged her with what passed for a cheery 'Good morning' for him.

"Blimey, what's come over him? I haven't seen him that cheery since...Well I can't think I've ever seen him quite that chipper," she thought to herself.

Martin managed to get through the morning without seriously insulting any of his patients for a change, and at lunch time disappeared off to the school, where Louisa was once again working in her office having dropped Luke at the Nursery.

Finding Louisa in her office, sitting at her desk surrounded by paperwork, he went up and kissed her. It felt strange to be kissing her in her office, as if he was kissing the school mistress, and it felt rather naughty.

"How are you feeling, not overdoing things are you?" Martin asked her.

"Fine, I'm fine, I'm just doing paperwork," Louisa told him, finishing off what she was writing.

"I've brought you a sandwich, remember what I said about eating regularly?" Martin said, handing it to her.

"Yes, I know, I was just about to take a break," Louisa replied.

"And I know you like the prawn ciabatta, but I don't think that's such a good choice now, those prawns could have been hanging around for some time, and unless they're kept at the correct temperature they can be a source of food poisoning," Martin told her.

"Right. OK, I suppose so," Louisa reluctantly agreed, looking to see what was in her sandwich. Cheddar cheese and tomato – safe but boring.

"I've also printed out a list of the foods that you should avoid eating." Martin handed her a sheet.

"Right. Thanks," Louisa looked at the sheet.

"And here is a list of the foods that are important for you to include in your diet – of course I will be ensuring that our meals at home contain all the essential nutrients for a healthy pregnancy." Martin handed her another sheet of paper.

'_Oh__for__goodness__sake,__this__is__only__day__one,__give__me__strength__to__cope__with__his__fussing,'_Louisa thought to herself.

Then she recalled the intense loneliness she'd felt when she'd found out that she was pregnant in London. It made her smile at him and put her hand on his cheek, loving him for the concern that showed in his eyes.

"Whatever you say Martin," Louisa told him. Hopefully he'd calm down a bit when the novelty wore off and then he'd let her get on as normal. For now she would have to learn to relax and try to enjoy being looked after for a change.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Spreading the Word - Chapter 17**

Martin and Louisa decided to invite Joan to join them for their evening meal on Friday evening, and that they would tell her their news then.

As they sat round the kitchen table having finished their meal, which had included one of Joan's delicious homemade apple pies, Martin cleared his throat and looked at Joan.

"So, umm, how are all your crops on the farm coming along?" Martin asked Joan.

"Well, a lot of them have finished now, time to get on with the preparations for autumn sowing – why do you ask, you're not usually interested in the slightest about my crops Marty?" Joan looked at Martin, puzzled. Louisa also wondered what on earth Martin was up to. They'd agreed that it should be Martin that would tell her their news.

"I just wondered if you're growing any gooseberries, that's all," he asked innocently.

"Gooseberries...what are you going on about? No, I'm not growing any gooseberries." Joan wondered if he was going a bit doo lally.

"Well I just wondered how you're going to check under the gooseberry bush for any deliveries from the stork if you haven't, that's all," Martin said with a completely straight face as he now collected up the dishes from the table and took them over to the dishwasher.

Finally the penny dropped, and Joan exclaimed,

"Does this mean...you're going to have...you're expecting...oh come here, the pair of you!" She jumped up and first hugged Martin and gave him a big kiss, and then went to Louisa to hug and kiss her.

"When, how far, what...oh I don't know what to ask first!" she was overcome with emotion.

"It's very early days yet Joan. Providing everything is OK, it'll be due in the second half of April. We wanted you to know first, but we aren't telling anyone else, just in case, you know, until we've had the first proper scan and we get the all clear," Louisa told her, thrilled to see her so happy at their news.

"Martin, I _knew_ you were being evasive about this baby business, but I thought it was because... well, you certainly didn't waste any time, seems you only have to unzip your trousers and she's pregnant." Joan always said exactly what she thought. And there was she worried that they hadn't even got round to any babymaking yet because they were too busy with work. Well it seemed that they certainly had been busy - in the bedroom. She was delighted.

"Auntie Joan, really!" Martin was thoroughly embarrassed now, and Louisa didn't really know where to look either.

"Well what I mean to say is, that at your age you're extremely lucky to have fathered another baby so quickly and easily. Must be the healthy Cornish diet, all that local fresh fish that you have in your diet, makes sure that your... you know... are able to..." Joan continued.

"Alright, alright, I think we get the picture," Martin told her, cringing and blushing.

"And a little brother or sister for you Luke. Two under the age of two, my word your Mummy and Daddy are going to have their work cut out, aren't they young man?" Joan gave Luke a hug and kiss too, ending up with apple pie in her hair from him.

**xXx**

On Saturday morning Martin got Luke up and took him down to breakfast. He knew that tiredness was one of the classic early symptoms of pregnancy, so he let Louisa sleep in.

Just as he was giving Luke his weetabix, he heard Louisa getting up and then rushing to the bathroom to be sick. Making sure that Luke's breakfast bowl was safely out of his reach, he went upstairs to check on her.

"Looks like I spoke too soon about not having any morning sickness," she smiled weakly at him.

"Come on, let me make you something to eat and drink, an empty stomach makes you feel worse," Martin told her as he guided her downstairs.

Luke had started to cry, he didn't like having his breakfast interrupted, so Louisa started to feed him again, but just the smell of his breakfast was enough to make her retch again.

"I think I'll just have some ginger tea, and a plain biscuit for now, that's what I found worked for me last time Martin," Louisa told him."Ordinary tea just tastes weird, and I can't stand the smell of coffee I'm afraid."

"Right, OK, well I'll just get that for you, then I'll carry on with Luke, he can just wait a minute for the rest of his breakfast," Martin said.

Louisa found the tea soothing, just as before, and once she'd eaten a biscuit and sipped her tea, she felt much better.

"I suggest that tomorrow morning I'll bring the same thing up to you before you get up, then hopefully you won't feel so sick," Martin offered.

"Thanks Martin, that's really sweet of you," Louisa told him as she pecked him on the cheek. He was so keen to be helpful and look after her, and she was trying her best to let him, even though it was using up a fair amount of her patience.

**xXx**

A week later, they were going over to Jenny and Chris Parsons for dinner on Saturday evening, Joan babysitting for them as usual.

Jenny and Chris had just come back from their holiday. They'd been away for Louisa's birthday, so they were treating this evening as a belated birthday celebration.

In the car on the way over Louisa quizzed Martin because she thought that there was a funny smell.

"Maybe it's the leather seats, have you cleaned them or something?" Louisa asked him.

"No, I haven't, I think it's just your hyper sensitive sense of smell again Louisa. Now obviously tonight you won't be having your usual glass of wine, and bear in mind what's on that list of foods to be avoided I gave you, as we don't know what they'll be serving up," Martin reminded her.

"Alright Martin, I'm not stupid you know," Louisa told him.

"Well I'm only saying..." Martin decided not to say any more and held his tongue.

Louisa was very touchy, but of course that was to be expected with the surge of hormonal activity going on in her body at the moment, he thought. He just had to be very tolerant and patient with her, he realised she really couldn't help it.

Louisa had already snapped at him when he'd reminded her of the time after she'd gone to the loo twice before they came out.

"I can't help it if I need to spend a penny every ten minutes, can I? It's very annoying, but there it is," Louisa had told him irritably.

They'd agreed that they wouldn't tell their friends their news just yet as it was still so early on in the pregnancy, although Louisa had a feeling that it wasn't going to be that easy to keep it a secret. She was feeling quite queasy again, and the journey over in the funny smelling car wasn't helping. She took a cracker biscuit out of her handbag to nibble on, with a few sips of water from a bottle she had also put in her bag. She tried to make sure that she didn't get crumbs everywhere.

Martin was extremely fussy about his precious car. When they took Luke out in the Lexus, it invariably needed hoovering out as soon as they got back as somehow Luke always managed to make some sort of mess in it, and Martin couldn't just leave it. On the few occasions that he'd borrowed Louisa's car when his was in the garage for servicing, he'd tutted at all the baby detritus in there. She never drove his car, she didn't want to risk damaging it in any way when parking such a big car and facing his wrath if she did.

As soon as they walked in to their friends' house, the smell of cooking hit Louisa. Luckily it was a good smell to her, and reminded her that she was really quite hungry.

"We've got a bottle of champagne on ice, to toast your birthday," Jenny told them. "I know you don't drink Martin, but Louisa always loves a glass of bubbly, don't you?"

"Well usually, but the thing is..."Louisa racked her brains to come up with a good reason for them not to open the bottle on her behalf. She wasn't a natural liar.

"She's not allowed alcohol at the moment. Umm... medical reasons..." Martin stated.

"Oh that's a shame, we'll have to save it for another time then, have you been poorly?" Jenny asked her, assuming that she was on antibiotics that shouldn't be mixed with alcohol.

"Something like that," Louisa agreed, then changed the subject quickly to ask about their holiday in Tuscany.

The meal passed very pleasantly. Luckily Martin approved of all the food, it was a very well cooked beef dish with plenty of fresh vegetables.

Then dessert was served up. It was Eton mess, a crushed up meringue base, with fresh strawberries and cream on top. Normally this was one of Louisa's favourites, but tonight as soon as she smelt the sickly sugary meringue, she found herself retching, and had to rush off to the bathroom.

"Is she alright?" Jenny asked Martin, worried about her friend. "Is she still poorly, if she's been on medication?"

Martin was a hopeless liar too.

"No, no she's fine, it's just...umm...it's just..." Martin struggled to say something convincing. They should have thought of a cover story before they came, he supposed.

Jenny and Chris exchanged knowing glances at each other and smiled.

"I'll go and check she's OK," said Jenny, leaving the table.

Chris looked at Martin.

"Congratulations. When's it due then?" Chris asked him.

Martin didn't say anything, he just took a sip of water from his glass.

"Come on, I am a doctor too, in case you've forgotten, I do know the classic signs," Chris probed.

"Second half of April. It's very early days, that's why we didn't say anything yet," Martin replied with a smile on his face.

"That's wonderful! Really wonderful news, I'm thrilled for you both,. You didn't hang about then after all, Louisa obviously decided that now was the right time to try for another baby" Chris said to him.

"She did, yes," Martin was still a man of few words.

"I have to say that's pretty good going at your ages, Louisa getting pregnant so quickly, obviously no fertility issues with either of you," Chris replied.

"Well, it's still very early, and the risk of miscarriage is higher because of Louisa's age, so we don't want to make a big deal of it yet, and we certainly don't want it to be general knowledge," Martin told his friend.

"OK mate, no problem, won't say a word till we get the all clear from you and Louisa. Great news though," Chris said, patting Martin on the back, pleased to see that Martin was actually smiling and happy.

"But since you do know about the pregnancy now, perhaps I can ask your opinion on something?" Martin asked Chris.

"Sure, fire away," Chris replied.

"I need to book Louisa's antenatal care. I said she could go privately if she wanted too, but she refused point blank to even consider it," Martin said. Louisa had told him very firmly that it would be a totally unnecessary waste of money, she was more than happy to go to their usual NHS hospital. She remembered the mothers at the private school in London that she'd taught at, they all went 'private' and she certainly didn't want to be grouped with that kind of snobby, elitist, expectant mother.

"Well our NHS hospital is amongst the best Martin," Chris told him.

"Being Chief Executive of the PCT you would say that wouldn't you?" Martin pointed out.

"Yes, but it's true," Chris assured him.

"Well I gather old Hardwick has retired now." This was the consultant that had completed Louisa's post natal check that Martin had dealt with before.

"Yes he has, shame, he was first rate," Chris said.

"And obviously Edith Montgomery has returned to London." Martin knew that hell would have frozen over before Louisa would have gone to her in any case.

"Yes, she has, left under a bit of a cloud actually, between you and me," Chris told him.

"Really? How so?" Martin was intrigued to know.

"Well she upset quite a few people with her arrogant manner, always assuming she knew best when actually some of her diagnosis turned out to be incorrect. She seems to have become rather narrow in her outlook, happens sometimes when you specialise in a one area for too many years, she seemed only capable of viewing things from a gynae point of view. We also had complaints about her not being very good at keeping her patients informed and explaining things to them. We certainly wouldn't be in any hurray to have her back, put it that way," Chris explained to him.

Martin recalled his initial dealings with her concerning his patient Barbara Collingsworth, when Edith had refused to even consider or run tests for Martin's diagnosis of diverticulitis, assuming, wrongly as it turned out, that it was a cyst. He thought Chris could almost be describing her experiences of Edith to the letter. And then there had been the fact that Edith hadn't bothered to explain the Doppler results to Louisa properly, meaning that she worried unnecessarily for some weeks that Luke was a 'small for dates' baby when in fact he had been a very healthy 8lb 10oz – it really was unforgivable to cause stress to an expectant mother in that way.

"I see. So who would you recommend that I refer Louisa to, who's the best consultant in your opinion?" Martin asked Chris.

"I've heard very good reports of Charles Stewart, that's who I'd go for if I were in your position Martin," Chris advised him.

"Thanks, I will then." Martin trusted Chris's judgement on this.

"Would you like me to have a word with him?" Chris offered. There was an unspoken rule among doctors that if one senior doctor asked another to see a patient, it meant that this was someone special who should be given priority treatment.

"I'd appreciate that, thank you." Martin felt happier now that he had spoken to Chris as making the necessary arrangements had been on his mind.

"Leave it with me," Chris told him.

**xXx**

Upstairs, Jenny knocked on the bathroom door and asked Louisa,

"Are you alright? Can I get you anything?"

The bathroom door opened, and Louisa let her friend in.

"Sorry about that, nothing to do with your cooking," she said rather sheepishly.

"No, I think it's more to do with something you and Martin have cooked up together isn't it?" Jenny looked at her knowingly.

"Is it that obvious?" Louisa looked at her friend as Jenny nodded and smiled, and then gave her a big hug.

"I think it's wonderful, the best news," Jenny told her. "How's Martin taking it?" She remembered how upset Louisa had been thinking that Martin didn't want any more babies.

"Oh he's delighted, I'm really surprised in a way about just how thrilled he is, so fingers crossed, I'm hoping everything will be alright, it's very early days, things could still go wrong..." Louisa started to say.

"Oh don't be such an old worrypot, I'm sure the odds are in your favour anyway, and with Martin looking after you too..." Jenny said.

"Ah. Yes. Well the thing is...he's already driving me _nuts_, he's being so over protective. I want to let him be really involved, let him take care of me, you know...after last time. Even so, I can't help it, sometimes I just snap at him but even then he just takes it. I can see him thinking '_just__her__hormones,__mustn't__upset__her'_. Right now I'd give anything for him to answer me back, have a good row, treat me normally."

Louisa's frustrations of the past week came tumbling out now. Martin was practically standing over her making sure that she ate the meals that he cooked for them after planning the most nutritious menu. He insisted that she went to bed early in the evening and let him get Luke up in the mornings after he'd brought her some ginger tea and a biscuit. He came home at lunchtime to check on her, or visited her at school if she was working there. Goodness knows what he was going to be like when she went back to work shortly for the new term. He'd also decided to do only one surgical clinic a week so that it didn't take up too much of his time.

Jenny laughed at her friend.

"Oh Louisa, just make the most of it, let him enjoy looking after you, it'll pass and then you'll be wishing he was like it again, I bet."

"Hmm. Can't see that happening any time soon. Sorry to grumble to you, I must sound really ungrateful, I'm just so used to managing on my own I suppose," Louisa admitted.

"Come on, let's go and rejoin the men now, see if we can find you something to eat that doesn't make you throw up eh?"

The women rejoined the men, Louisa letting Martin quickly check her over whilst giving Jenny a resigned look over his shoulder.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Patience is a Virtue - Chapter 18**

Louisa cuddled up to Martin in bed. He had insisted on a very early night as she was back to work in the morning. He was happy just to cuddle her and not expect anything more. He felt that it was a small price for him to pay compared to what she was going through, knowing that she felt sick, tired, and hormonal.

"I can't believe it's the first day of term tomorrow already, the summer holidays have gone so quickly," Louisa said to him.

"Yes, and I want you to pace yourself, not overdo things, make sure you take regular breaks, keep hydrated..." Martin started to tell her yet again.

"Martin! Stop lecturing me, I know it's only out of concern, and I love you for it, I really do, but you have to let me get on with my job. I'm pregnant, not ill," Louisa was trying to get him to back off a bit, she really didn't want him calling into school every five minutes checking up on her.

At least this time it wasn't a case of him trying to block her promotion as he had done when she'd been pregnant before – at the time she'd been furious with him, and although she still thought it unforgivable, she now realised that it had been his very clumsy way of trying to protect her, stop her from overdoing things, just as he was trying to now. At least now he was no longer a School Governor - when his term of office had come up for renewal, he'd stepped down on the grounds that he couldn't spare the time to attend the meetings, and Louisa had not been in the least bit surprised that none of the other governors had tried to persuade him to stay on.

"Yes, but with your history of fainting, not always eating properly, not looking after yourself adequately, I'm concerned for you. You get carried away at work, get involved in things and forget about eating. Being tired, hungry, and stressed are not good for you in your condition," Martin told her.

"Well I promise that I'll make sure to take regular breaks and eat properly. I did manage to look after myself before you know, I got through my first pregnancy alright, Luke turned out just fine after all," Louisa reminded him.

"Hmmm. Well in pregnancy your body automatically puts the baby's needs first, so it would be your body that suffered not the baby if you weren't looking after yourself, putting you at greater risk of osteoporosis later in life, there are all sorts of consequences that aren't immediately apparent you know.," Martin told her.

"Yes, but I have a perfect diet now, thanks to my superstar of a husband, so there really is no need to worry so much. I'll be fine," Louisa said as she tenderly kissed him on the lips and ran her hands through his hair.

"I hear what you're saying Louisa, but have you any idea what it feels like to be called out because you've been found collapsed and find an ambulance there for you? You're trying to brush my concerns aside, but there are good reasons why I'm concerned after all." Martin wasn't going to be fobbed off so easily, even if her ministrations were affecting his concentration as she knew they would.

"The ambulance wasn't necessary, and fainting isn't that unusual for me as you know by now Martin," Louisa pointed out, carrying on with her kisses round his ears and neck now and running her hands under his top.

"Yes, but...but you could hurt yourself when you collapse, it isn't just the fainting...Louisa you'll have to stop doing that...it isn't fair when..." Martin was now finding it very hard to resist her.

"Maybe I don't want to stop, there's no medical reason why we have to stop, is there, and we are having a very early night after all," Louisa said as she started to run her hand down his stomach, heading for another area.

"No, but with you starting back at work tomorrow, I really think it best if you get some sleep now," Martin said, exercising great self restraint and firmly removing her hands from him.

"Fine, if you don't feel attracted to me now that I'm pregnant you only have to say," Louisa huffed as she rolled over and turned her back to him. She knew that wasn't true because of his only too obvious response to her touch, it was just him being stupidly over protective again. As they both lay there not able to sleep now, she felt that the time could have been put to much better use.

**xXx**

The beginning of term went well for Louisa. She managed to stave off most of her bouts of sickness with a secret stash of biscuits and crackers in her desk drawer in her office, and she hadn't raised any eyebrows when the other staff had seen her drinking herbal tea as she often had it in any case. Nobody seemed to have guessed that she was pregnant so far.

She had to admit that she felt shattered by the time that she got home from work. Luke was being his usual demanding little self, he needed watching all the time in case he found something new to get his hands on. His latest fascination was with the TV in the lounge, the screen was covered with his sticky little finger marks, and if the remote control was left within his reach he would spend ages fiddling with it, rather than play with any of his toys. Lately she'd been so tired that she'd let him fiddle with it, knowing that he couldn't get the batteries out, while she just closed her eyes for a few minutes on the sofa, and now she wasn't sure that it was working properly – baby dribble probably didn't do it much good. Martin hadn't noticed yet, but she thought that she would simply blame the batteries in it when the time came, it would be easier. She didn't dare complain too much to Martin about feeling so tired in case it triggered another wave of his claustrophobic concern.

On her first day back, Martin had been worrying because it was his surgical clinic day.

"I'm afraid I'll be really busy today, I doubt I'll be able to call in to check on you at lunchtime," he'd told her.

"That's OK, don't worry, I'm feeling fine," Louisa had assured him, privately heaving a sigh of relief.

"But if I get a moment I'll ring you," Martin had said.

"Look you're going to be really busy, and so am I, so we'll just catch up at supper as usual hmm?" Louisa had suggested.

"I suppose so, but you know you can always call me at anytime..." Martin had told her.

"Yes, I know, now come on or we'll both end up being late," Louisa had reminded him as she'd scooped Luke out of his highchair and taken him to get ready for nursery, glad that Martin had a busy day ahead of him to keep him occupied and out of her hair.

In the afternoon, Louisa had been taking a class. The Head teacher role was mainly spent on administrative matters, budgets, form filling, forward planning and so on, but Louisa still loved teaching, so she timetabled herself in to teach a few classes a week. She also believed that it was the best way to monitor her pupils' progress and keep her finger on the pulse of the school.

She was in the middle of teaching a history lesson on the Tudor period, one of her favourite subjects, when Sally Chadwick put her head round the door.

"Doctor Ellingham on the phone for you," Sally told her.

"Can't you tell him I'll call back later, when this lesson has finished?" Louisa said, annoyed.

"Well this is the second time he's rung, the first time I said you'd call him back, but now he's rung again and says he needs to speak to you urgently," Sally explained apologetically.

"Right. I see. You lot, get on with reading the information sheets, I'll be back in five minutes," Louisa told her class as she left the room. Perhaps something was wrong with Joan, maybe that was why Martin needed to speak to her urgently, she worried.

"I'm between patients, so I thought I'd just check to make sure that you're alright, no fainting episodes or anything," Martin said when she took the call in the privacy of her office.

"Martin, you've hauled me out of a class of 30 children, who've now been left to their own devices, just to check up on me?" Louisa asked him incredulously.

"Well, I'll be tied up now for the rest of the afternoon, and I wanted to be sure that you were OK first," Martin explained.

"This has to stop Martin. I'm fine, I'll see you tonight," Louisa said as she put the phone down and went back to her class, smiling at Sally as she hurried by.

**xXx**

Martin knew that Louisa felt that he was being over protective, but he felt so responsible for her. Of course he hadn't even known that she was pregnant at this stage with Luke, so this was all new to him. Although he'd dealt with many expectant parents as a GP, he was now experiencing it from the other side and it was proving to be a bit of a roller coaster ride for him – elated one minute, worried sick the next.

"This early stage of development is very critical because the basic structure of the body and all the organs are formed in the first twelve weeks, and can be adversely affected by various different influences," he'd told her. He'd double checked that she was immune to rubella, this was very important considering that she worked in a school surrounded by lots of disgusting germ infested children.

"Yes Martin, I know, and of course I would never take any medication or drugs of any sort," Louisa reassured him.

"Once you've had your scan at twelve weeks, we'll be able to relax a bit more if everything seems OK then," Martin told her.

"Yes, it'll be really good to get passed that stage, won't it?" Louisa agreed, thinking that it seemed ages away at the moment. She wasn't allowing herself to think too much about this baby, or get too excited until that time, just in case things went wrong, but with Martin constantly fussing it was hard to push it to the back of her mind.

**xXx**

"So how are you feeling now, are you still suffering with wretched morning sickness? Joan asked Louisa, having called in one evening. "I just brought you some of my special chicken broth, I thought you might fancy it."

Joan's chicken broth was famed in the village for its healing qualities.

"Ah, thank you Joan, that's wonderful, your broth is always so delicious. Yes I am still being sick, trouble is it isn't just in the mornings, which makes it a bit tricky sometimes, especially at work, but I'm coping," Louisa replied.

Martin had been called out, Luke was tucked up in his cot upstairs, so the two women could talk freely as they sat at the kitchen table.

"Well I hope Martin is still looking after you properly, taking care of you, and helping with Luke," Joan said.

Louisa smile ruefully as she recalled the latest 'helpful' lecture from Martin this morning when she'd been sick again.

"At least it shows a good healthy level of the HCG pregnancy hormone in your body Louisa. A large amount is produced until the placenta is developed enough to take over at around 12 – 14 weeks, so hopefully your sickness should ease at that stage. Combined with extreme fatigue in the early stages, it's probably nature's way of preventing you from doing stupid dangerous things like climbing mountains or trekking through the jungle – or working too hard," Martin had told her.

"Bloody stupid nature, just being a pain in the proverbial," Louisa had grumbled.

"Well take some time off work if it's that bad..." Martin had started to suggest. He'd made no secret of the fact that he would be far happier if Louisa was at home taking things easy for now.

"Don't be stupid Martin, I've only just gone back, I'm only having a grumble that's all, it doesn't mean I can't cope," Louisa had told him.

So now Louisa said to Joan,

"Oh yes, he's certainly doing that alright," she confirmed, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh. Going a bit overboard is he? Never one to do things by halves that boy," Joan said. "Never mind, just be patient and try to make the most of it."

"I'm trying to, but I think if he had his way he'd wrap me up in cotton wool, and have me on complete bed rest for the next few months. To be honest, I've been at screaming point with him at times. I've always looked after myself, I'm more than capable...I don't need..." Louisa told Joan.

"Sorry, but I think you're just going to have to let him help you Louisa. Don't forget, he's never had anyone to look after like this before, and maybe he is going too far, but it's only because he cares about you and this new baby that's on the way. Maybe you have to consider what he needs too – he _needs_ to feel that he's helping, especially after last time. Expectant fathers have to make adjustments too you know, especially one like Martin, it doesn't come naturally to him. I for one am delighted to see him like this, however annoying it may be for you at times. Would you rather he went back to seeming cold and uncaring?" Joan thought Louisa was being rather too harsh on Martin.

Louisa mulled this over for a while before heaving a big sigh and saying,

"No, I wouldn't, as usual you're right, I always wanted him to show his caring side more, and now that he is, I'm complaining like a spoilt brat. Poor man can't win, can he? Thanks Joan." Louisa smiled at the older woman.

"What for?" Joan queried.

"For telling me a few home truths, and not pandering to me," Louisa explained.

"Well you know me, tell it like it is, best way I've always found," Joan replied.

**xXx**

When Martin came home later that night, he was surprised by Louisa putting her arms around his waist and pulling him close to her as she nestled into his chest. When he'd gone out, she'd been in a pretty foul temper with him because he'd questioned whether it was a good idea for her to be one of the accompanying teachers on an educational school trip to The Eden Project in a couple of weeks time, thinking that the three quarters of an hour journey there would probably make her pretty queasy, and that it would be a demanding day for her looking after all those horrid, badly behaved children. She'd told him in no uncertain terms that there was absolutely no reason for her not to go, it would upset the teacher/pupil ratios if she didn't, and basically for him to 'butt out'.

"I'm sorry for being such a moody cow with you Martin," she told him now.

"Err.. you haven't been, it's... umm ...just your hormones affecting you," Martin told her, not sure what the right thing to say was.

"Yes I have, and it's no good always blaming my hormones, I shouldn't be so unreasonable. I always wanted a kind, caring Martin and now that you are, I'm being horrid to you, so I'm sorry," Louisa took his hand and placed it on her tummy. "You're going to be a great Dad to this baby, just as you are to Luke, you know that don't you?"

"Well, I hope so Louisa, I certainly intend to try my best to be," Martin replied, relieved that she wasn't snapping at him for a change, and enjoying having her in his arms and cuddling up to him.

'_Must__be__another__hormonal__swing,__luckily__into__a__good__mood__this__time__-__I__wonder__how__long__it'll__last?'_ Martin thought to himself, not realising that he had his aunt to thank for Louisa's change of mood. At the moment it was hard to know which way was up at times.

**xXx**

A kind of calm descended between Martin and Louisa as he tried not to fuss as much, and she tried to let him take care of her a bit more willingly.

Then one morning Martin brought in the post that had just arrived.

"There's a letter for you Louisa, same handwriting as the birthday card that you didn't want to open in front of me," Martin said as he put the letter down in front of her.

"Ah. Right." She'd been afraid this would happen.

"Aren't you going to open it then?" Martin asked, watching her closely.

"_Oh__God.__Now__the__brown__stuff__is__really__going__to__hit__the__fan_' Louisa thought to herself.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Better the Devil You Meet - Chapter 19**

"So who are these letters from then Louisa?" Martin demanded to know as Louisa quietly opened and read the letter that had just arrived. "Someone in London obviously... it's not..." Martin could hardly bring himself to say the name.

"Who Martin, who do you think they're from?" Louisa couldn't help asking out of curiosity as she put the letter down on the table.

"You know, the architect, that tosser Danny Steele," Martin practically spat his name out.

"Danny! Why on earth would I hear from him?" Louisa asked in genuine surprise.

"Well I don't know, maybe you saw him in London when you lived there, I don't know what went on do I?" Martin knew his response was pretty irrational, but it was the old green eyed monster surfacing again. He hated secrets of any kind and always feared the worst.

"No, Martin, the letters aren't from Danny, I haven't spoken to him or heard from him since he left the village when I broke things off between us all that time ago. In fact Joan tells me that Muriel has been boasting to her about how he's married this amazing talented woman, a doctor he met at his church, and that they were going to work abroad in some remote area on a very worthwhile Christian charity project," Louisa told Martin, surprised at his long memory for Danny to have come to mind.

Thinking of Danny in some remote part of the world without adequate sanitation and lots of flies and mosquitoes momentarily cheered Martin up.

"Right... well...I see. So who _are_ the letters from then?" Martin asked her.

Louisa realised that she could no longer put off the subject that had been playing on her mind. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as she thought, she tried to convince herself, after all Martin was handling her with kid gloves at the moment, not wishing to upset her in any way.

So she took a big breath and told him,

"They're from my Dad, both letters are from my Dad. He's written again because I didn't answer the first one. We met up a few times while I was in London. He was out on parole you see, and although he's never exactly been a great parent, at the time I didn't have anyone else I could talk to."

Louisa held her breath waiting for Martin's reaction.

"Terry Glasson. Liar, thief, jailbird, con artist and low life. That's the one you're referring to I take it?" Martin's voice was icy cold in its condemnation.

"He's still my Dad, Martin. He's done wrong and he's paid the price. He's been to rehab, joined Gamblers Anonymous and is trying really hard to go straight. But it's difficult when you have a criminal record, no one will give you a job," Louisa tried to explain.

"Really, I can't imagine why that would be, can you Louisa? Oh for God's sake, he can't be trusted, you can't believe a word he says, you know that don't you?" Martin tried hard to keep his temper under control and not to shout at her as he struggled to understand why Louisa was even prepared to give him the time of day.

"Yes, I know he's done some terrible things. But when I was a little girl, he did his best to look after me when Mum left, he just didn't know any other way. He knows things about me that no one else does, he was there at really difficult times in my life, Martin, about which you know nothing. He's still my Dad, and he really does care about me in his own way." Louisa tried to justify her actions.

"I'm just trying to protect you Louisa, I don't want to see you hurt by him, especially now, when you're feeling so...so... emotional," Martin tried to explain rationally, working extremely hard to keep his temper under control. "He'll only let you down again if you trust him in any way, that's just how it is. Best to accept it and move on."

"I can't Martin, I don't have a heart of stone. Maybe you do with your Dad, but I don't," Louisa told him.

"But why? What hold does he have on you, he's lied and lied to you, let you down countless times, even put you in danger from that lunatic that he was going to rob the safe in the warehouse with." Martin still couldn't fathom it.

"I know, I know. I'm not saying that I would ever really trust him ever again. But..."Louisa struggled to explain.

"But what? What happened at these 'difficult times' that I don't know about? Tell me, then maybe I'll understand a bit better." Martin thought it highly unlikely though.

"Oh just teenage girl stuff, that's all. Look you're probably right, I'll just try my best not to think about him." Louisa wished she hadn't said anything now, this could open up a whole new can of worms, and she wasn't sure that was such a good idea with Martin in his current over- protective mode.

"What 'teenage girls stuff'? And just what did he say in his original letter to you, and how did he know where you were living now?" Martin asked, sensing she was holding back.

"You have to promise me not to get really angry Martin," Louisa told him.

"I can't promise anything if I don't know what you're going to say, can I?" Martin stated.

Louisa decided that she may as well just go for it, so she took a deep breath and explained,

"I sent Dad a picture of Luke from his first birthday actually. He is Luke's Grandad after all, it was just a spur of the moment thing. I knew where to send it because he has to stay at the same address, those are the terms of his parole. I told him that I didn't want anything to do with him, but that I would send him an occasional picture of Luke. I also filled him in about us being married, our house and so on, and although I didn't give him our address, he must have remembered where my friend Carol lived all those years ago and worked it out. "

Louisa confessed what had been on her mind for some time, she'd felt very guilty for not telling Martin, but realistically hadn't thought that she would ever hear back from her Dad.

"Oh did you. Well that was pretty stupid, wasn't it?" Martin was furious, as Louisa had known he would be.

"Well I'm sorry but it seemed a nice thing to do at the time. Anyway, he wrote back because he's worried about me," Louisa told Martin.

"Worried about you – why? You're married, settled, and secure now. Surely he should be pleased for you." Martin asked.

"Well that's the point really I suppose. He thinks I married you... for security, to give Luke a father...he doesn't believe I'm really happy," Louisa told him reluctantly.

"Let me read this letter." Martin wanted to know just what Terry Glasson had said.

"You won't like it Martin, he doesn't understand, he doesn't really know you..." Louisa said.

"Even so, I'd like to read it," Martin insisted.

Reluctantly Louisa got up and fetched the letter, and handed it to Martin.

_My Darling Louisa_

_Thank you so much for the photo, it means the world to me. He looks like a smashing little boy, and I'm sure you're a wonderful Mum to him, what with you being a teacher too._

_I know you won't believe me, and I don't blame you, but I really am trying to go straight these days. Ever since I saw you last year, I've felt so ashamed and guilty that I wasn't able to help you or look after you as a proper Dad should, it gave me a kick up the backside to get my act together, so that's what I've been trying to do ever since. It really broke my heart to see you so alone, being so brave when you were what we always used to call 'in trouble'. I know you said it was your choice, but what kind of a man must Martin be if you couldn't turn to him when you really needed help? That's why I suspect that he must have treated you badly. He seemed such a cold man when I met him, not at all the kind of person that my girl used to dream about marrying, not exactly Prince Charming, is he?_

_And now you say that you and he are married, happily you tell me. Well I'm sorry but I find that hard to believe. I'm worried that you settled for security with him for the little boys' sake, and that your spirit, your wonderful, feisty, independent spirit has been broken._

_I've saved up enough money for a train ticket to come down and see you – maybe somewhere like Exeter or Truro? I know it would only embarrass you if I showed my face in the village again. But if we could meet up, if I can look into your eyes, I'll know the truth about whether or not you're happy, I can always tell, can't I? Remember those bitchy girls at school, I knew something was wrong, didn't I? Got you sorted out and eating properly again without any hoity toity Doctors involved._

_If you won't agree to meet me, I'll know that I was right, that you're stuck in a loveless marriage. You deserve better than that my darling girl._

_I know you don't want me to be in your life, I accept that, but maybe you could still send me the occasional picture of my grandson, I'd really like that if you would._

_All my love_

_Dad x_

Martin sat back in the chair once he'd read the letter. Louisa was right, he was angry about the letter, very angry. How dare that low life make assumptions about their marriage, what did he know? He also suspected that there was a very good chance that Terry was after some money, now that he knew Louisa was comfortably off. But what really got to him was knowing that part of what Terry Glasson said rang true. Louisa hadn't felt able to turn to him in her hour of need, and that haunted him '_I__didn't__have__anyone__else__I__could__talk__to_' she'd just said. She hadn't been able to talk to him, the father of her baby, the man she'd been engaged to, had been about to marry.

He knew that a lot of people had made the same assumption about their marriage, that Louisa had married him just to give Luke some security, and he'd brushed that aside because he thought that anyone who knew Louisa knew that she simply wouldn't do that. But now her father, who did know her, was making the same assumption.

And what was this about getting her eating again, she'd said something about 'teenage girls problems' what did she mean?

"Tell me about this business with bitchy girls and not eating properly – were you anorexic?" Martin demanded to know. There'd been nothing in her medical notes about any of this, but then Terry had said in his letter that they'd managed without any help from doctors.

Louisa sighed, she'd known that Martin would pick up on this.

"The worst thing you can be as a teenage girl is 'different' Martin. You went to an all boy's school so you can have no idea how evil a group of teenage girls can be."

Martin thought about the pack of teenage girls that hung around the village and outside his surgery, constantly stirring up rumours and trouble with their bitchy comments. He had an inkling of what it could be like.

"Most of the girls I was at senior school with had sun kissed blonde hair, golden tanned skin and mile long legs with cute little backsides. And there was me, with pale skin that never tans, dark hair and a very curvy bum."

Louisa was describing the very things that Martin found most attractive about her.

"Anyhow, I used to come home and beg Dad to buy me some fake tan, and hair dye to make me more like them, but he always refused, telling me that I had beautiful skin and hair, just like my Mum's, and that he loved those things about her and about me. I tried to diet, I wasn't very sensible about it and went a bit extreme I suppose, but I wasn't anorexic. Then I fainted at school and he got called in, that's how it all came to a head really. The school wanted me to see a doctor, but Dad said we didn't need one, he would sort it. He sat me down and told me that one day, I would find someone who would love all the things about me that I hated, so I shouldn't try to change myself to be like all the other girls, I should be proud to be who I am. There was a lot more to it than that, but basically I realised that he was right – eventually."

Martin had to give some credit to Terry, what he'd said to Louisa was pretty good actually. And he could understand in a way why he was concerned for Louisa, to an outsider he supposed that he could appear as cold hearted, unapproachable and uncaring – that's certainly how most of the village saw him.

"So Martin, maybe it's best if I do meet up with Dad, just to put his mind at rest, and then he'll leave us alone. And if I tell him that we've chosen to have another baby together, I'm sure that will help to convince him that I am very, very happy with you. I'm trying to be honest with you now Martin, and not keep any secrets. I could have gone to meet him without telling you but I didn't want to do that." Louisa looked Martin in the eye as she told him this.

Martin realised that he could hardly forbid Louisa from meeting up with her father, much as he'd like to. She was quite right, she could have just gone to meet up without even telling him, she'd obviously been very reluctant to tell him about all this, scared of his reaction. It must be better to prove to Louisa that she _could_ confide in him, tell him anything, that he would always be supportive of her so that she would be willing to include him and not shut him out. Also, by accepting that she was going to meet up with Terry and supporting her, he could possibly have some control over just what stunt Terry might be trying to pull.

"Alright, if you're really convinced that you have to see him, I'll agree as long as I get to take you, I don't want you going on your own and getting upset, not in your condition. Maybe you can write back and put him off for a while, until things are more...settled with your pregnancy," Martin very reluctantly agreed. "It will have to be made crystal clear to him that I don't _ever_ want him coming to our house, or being involved in _any_ way with Luke whatsoever, or thinking that all is forgiven and he can start visiting if the fancy takes him. And there is absolutely _no__way_ that you're going to give him any money or help like that Louisa, because he'll more than likely try to take advantage of you, you have to be prepared for that"

'_A__leopard__can't__change__its__spots'_Martin thought to himself_._

"Right...OK... Martin, well how about I write back and explain that I can't meet up just now, but maybe at half term or something, he knows how busy I am during term time. But there really isn't any need for you to take me, I'll be fine on my own, it'll be easier if it's just me and him." Louisa couldn't imagine Martin having anything positive to bring to any meeting with her father, and could just imagine him glowering at him barely able to contain his contempt.

"No Louisa, I'm adamant, I want to show my support by taking you. I suppose that maybe I could leave you to chat to him by yourself for a few minutes while I'm nearby." Martin thought it would be a very few minutes indeed as far as he was concerned.

"Well we can sort out the details nearer the time, I'll just write him a short note back, and then we'll see what happens." Louisa thought she had done well to get Martin to agree to any kind of meeting, so decided to leave it at that. She could work on him gradually to accept that she was going to go on her own.

"And don't think you can get round me, I'm not changing my mind about wanting to take you Louisa." Martin had learnt enough about feminine persuasion to foresee what Louisa might be thinking. "I shall be coming with you, like it or not, I am going to be involved."

He knew by the look on her face that he'd guessed what she'd been thinking, and was quite pleased that he finally seemed to be getting the hang of this power play between the sexes.


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Don't count Your Chickens... - Chapter 20**

Having finished making her regular delivery to Bert's restaurant, Joan drove up the road to Martin and Louisa's house to drop off some of her vegetables, knowing how they preferred her home grown organic crops to anything in the shops.

She hummed happily to herself as she parked her truck, and wandered round to the back door of the kitchen as usual.

She glanced in through the window, about to call out '_only__m_e' in her usual way, when she was once again stopped in her tracks by what she saw.

Martin was holding Louisa in his arms, but she was sobbing and crying as if her heart was breaking, Martin was just holding and comforting her as best he could. He glanced up over her shoulder, saw Joan, and shook his head at her to say '_not__now'._

'_Call__me'_she mouthed at him and made a sign with her hand to show him what she meant. He nodded back at her, and she headed back to her truck.

"Dear lord, what on earth has happened to upset Louisa like that," Joan worried to herself. "Oh no, please don't say it's anything to do with the baby..."

**xXx**

It was the beginning of October. Louisa had got through September without revealing her pregnancy to anyone at school, although it had been hard at times. She'd managed for the most part to avoid any lunch time supervisory duties, the food smells were revolting to her at the moment. She was incredibly tired all the time, however early Martin insisted she go to bed, but she forced herself to keep going through the day, she had so many things she wanted to get sorted and in place to ease the eventual announcement of her pregnancy to the School Governors. She was trying to subtly coach Emma Greenway in a lot of her tasks, she was a brilliantly organised and talented teacher. A lot of people had commented on how she reminded them of Louisa herself when she very first came to teach at Portwenn school.

The educational trip to The Eden Project had been a particularly exhausting day for her. Much as Martin had predicted, she'd felt very sick by the time they'd arrived, but she'd managed to make light of it to the other staff by blaming travel sickness. Her group of children were the known trouble makers. As one of the most experienced teachers there it was the normal arrangement, it was unfair and possibly unsafe to land an accompanying parent with these difficult children – funny how it was never their parents who volunteered to help with these trips, Louisa always thought. It meant that Louisa had to be on her guard and concentrate the whole day.

When she got home that day she just collapsed on the sofa, too exhausted to do anything but watch Luke as he turned the lounge into a toy strewn disaster zone. When Martin came in from work, he'd taken one look at her crashed out on the sofa before taking Luke with him into the kitchen and putting him in his playpen while he prepared their supper. Luke wasn't very pleased with this arrangement, but at least he got to watch Daddy, and Mummy wasn't a lot of fun at the moment. Martin was not at all happy that Louisa had overdone things in his opinion, but knew that he'd only be accused of fussing too much if he made any comment, so he held his tongue and simply did his best to help by preparing supper and doing Luke's bath and bedtime routine. Louisa was very grateful that he did this, giving him a bit hug and kiss for his troubles.

The date had come through for Louisa's twelve week appointment and dating scan at the hospital. It was for one afternoon the following week, so Martin had blocked that time out in his surgery diary, piquing Pauline's curiosity.

"What are you doing then?" she'd wanted to know.

"Important meeting at the hospital, I can't be late for it, so don't squeeze in any extra patients that morning," Martin had briefly told her, determined that nothing was going to make him miss this appointment.

"What kind of important meeting, what's it about?" she'd asked.

"Mind your own business." was the only response she got as he'd disappeared into his consulting room.

"I hope he's not going after another job again, he's acting in the same shifty sort of manner as he did before," Pauline worried to herself.

Louisa told Sally Chadwick that she would not be available that afternoon, being rather vague about a budget meeting that she had to attend, which was not an unusual occurrence so Sally just put it in the diary without comment.

Louisa was feeling both very excited and very nervous about the scan, knowing that an all clear at this stage was a huge milestone to pass, at least until the next important scan at around twenty weeks. As usual Martin hadn't said too much about how he felt about it, but she knew that he intended to be there come hell or high water. She was very glad, it had been so lonely not having someone to share the experience with last time, and it was reassuring knowing that she would have his support should anything amiss show up on the scan.

**xXx**

Louisa wrote back to her Dad, as agreed with Martin, however reluctant his agreement was. She'd just written a short note, saying that she would meet up with him because she wanted to reassure him that she was very happy with Martin, and had not married him simply for security. She told Terry that she was very busy at school and with Luke, so that the best time for her to meet up would be in the half term holidays at the end of October. This would also be after she had had her scan, meaning that she could tell him about her pregnancy hopefully, if all was well. She suggested some dates and meeting up in Exeter, and that she would wait to hear back from him. She'd shown Martin the letter before she sent it, determined now to be open and honest with him, because he was being supportive to her even though he strongly distrusted Terry. Martin cursed that the man had reappeared in their lives just when things were going so well for them– it seemed that there always had to be a fly in the ointment, something to spoil things. He still strongly suspected an ulterior motive to all this sudden parental concern. Louisa knew she couldn't blame him, but tried to reassure him.

"It is possible for to people to reform, turn over a new leaf, Martin. You're always so distrustful of people, you always choose to think the worst," Louisa told him.

"Usually with good reason, in my experience," Martin had replied.

"Well at least try to keep an open mind for now, be optimistic for once in your life hmm – Dad might actually be going straight," Louisa had tried to cajole him.

'_Pigs__might__fly'_Martin thought to himself.

"We'll see, won't we Louisa?" was the best that Martin could come up with that wouldn't upset Louisa. He could see that she desperately wanted to believe that Terry Glasson was making good. He just hoped that she wasn't going to be let down, yet again. For once she was letting herself believe that things were going to be OK with her father, usually she prepared herself for disappointment, so now he hoped that her bubble wasn't going to be burst.

No reply came from Terry for some time, and Martin began to think that perhaps he wasn't going to write back, and was relieved because it would avoid them having to meet up. He could see Louisa checking the post each day now, but saying nothing.

Then finally one Saturday morning as they were having their breakfast, the post arrived, and when Louisa brought it in she showed him another letter in the same handwriting as before.

"Looks like I've got an answer back from Dad," she told him, showing him the envelope.

"Oh. Right. Well you'd better open it and see what he says I suppose," Martin told her, trying not to sound too disappointed. He carried on feeding Luke his breakfast, leaving Louisa to read her letter.

Louisa sat down at the kitchen table, opened the envelope and started to read it.

Martin watched to see her reaction, and saw her starting to bite her lip and then saw her eyes fill with tears. Finally she threw the letter down on the table.

"He's done it again, why do I do this, why do I let myself fall for his lies, his stories, you were right all along Martin, I should have listened to you, he can't be trusted."

With this she burst into tears, so Martin took her in his arms to try to comfort her, not really knowing exactly what the letter said, but clearly it wasn't good news.

It was at this point that he glanced up and saw Joan at the window, and shook his head at her – he needed to find out just what Terry had said before Louisa clammed up in front of someone else. Luckily Joan got the message and left them to it. He'd talk to Joan later – they hadn't said anything to her yet about Terry being in contact, waiting to see what would happen after Louisa wrote back first.

"What did he say then?" Martin asked Louisa.

"He's back inside, broke the terms of his parole. of course he says it wasn't his fault, he's been 'stitched up' he says, how many times have I heard his excuses, his stories..." Louisa sobbed as if her heart would break, all the years of frustration and disappointment in her father being let loose, now that she didn't have to pretend that she didn't care, that it didn't hurt. She didn't have to pretend in front of Martin. She handed him the letter to read for himself. It read:

_My Darling Girl,_

_I'm sorry to have to tell you but I'm not going to be able to meet up with you after all. I know you've heard it a hundred times before, but it really isn't my fault this time. I've been set up, some people that I've upset in the past decided to settle some old scores, and I've ended back up inside due to breaking the terms of my parole, 'receiving stolen goods' they've called it. I'm going to fight to try to clear my name, but it's going to be an uphill struggle I'm afraid, I can't afford any fancy solicitor to help me._

_I meant it when I said I was worried about you, you deserve the best, but at least if you are financially secure I suppose that is something, and you have your little boy after all._

_God bless you and I'm sorry for all the grief I've caused you over the years_

_Dad x_

Martin read the letter with disgust at how easily and glibly Terry seemed to pass this off, not caring about the heartbreak he was causing Louisa. He could cheerfully have murdered the man at this moment.

He held Louisa tight until her sobbing subsided and she pulled away from him.

"I'm sorry Martin, I didn't mean to carry on like that, blame my hormones I suppose. What did I expect from him anyhow, being realistic? Even if it's true that he's been set up, it just shows the kind of people that he's chosen to mix with all his life. Well from now on, I'm just going to concentrate on our family, that's what's important to me," she told him.

Martin realised that she was putting a brave face on things, she was still desperately upset, even he knew that. But there was nothing he could do except to agree with her that it was best to look forward. He watched as she picked Luke up and hugged and kissed him to show him that Mummy was alright, he'd been scared to see her crying like that, he wasn't used to it.

**xXx**

Joan waited anxiously for a call from Martin, needing to know what had upset Louisa so badly, fearing the worst, that something had gone wrong, that possibly she'd had a miscarriage.

She jumped as her phone finally rang and she grabbed it quickly.

"Marty, is that you?" she asked.

"Yes, Auntie Joan, it's me," Martin confirmed.

"What's happened, what on earth's wrong with Louisa, has something happened with the baby?" she gabbled down the phone.

"The baby? No, it's nothing to do with the baby," Martin said, then filled her in about what had happened.

"The bastard, well if he ever tries to get in touch, make sure Louisa doesn't get sucked in again Martin," Joan told him, upset for Louisa, but immensely relieved that it was nothing to do with the baby.

"Well I tried this time, but without success. I hate seeing her so upset, especially at this stage of her pregnancy, I could cheerfully wring his neck right now. She says she'll never trust him again, but I don't know, it's like a weak spot she has for him. He knows just how to get to her, the 'caring father' routine, making out he was concerned about her, he knew that was what she wanted to hear from him," Martin confided to Joan.

"Families are funny things, bring out all sorts of contradictory feelings sometimes," Joan told him. "But Louisa's lucky to have you now, just make sure you try to be sensitive, you know how tactless you can be."

"Well thanks for the vote of confidence, I had worked that this was quite a tricky area all by myself actually," Martin told her.

"If you need me to look after Luke while you give Louisa your full attention, just say the word," Joan offered helpfully.

"Thanks, but at the moment Luke is taking her mind off things I think," Martin replied.

**xXx**

As they lay in bed that night, Martin held Louisa in his arms and said,

"Look, I know that I'm not very good at saying the right thing, but I am sorry things didn't work out the way that you'd hoped with your father," he told her.

"Actually Martin, I'm not. Better this happened now, it reminded me of the real Terry Glasson before I got totally sucked in again and maybe let him creep his way back into my life and our family. I have my family here, with you, and that's all I need, once we've had the scan next week we can hopefully relax and look forward to our new baby coming," Louisa told him, hugging him back and kissing his cheek. He'd been pretty wonderful today, not saying very much, not uttering the '_I__told__you__so_' that he was entitled to, just quietly looking after her and Luke. He'd proved to her once again that he was her rock, that she could always rely on him when it really mattered even if he never said much. Martin was a living example of '_actions__speak__louder__than__words'_, she knew now. Her dad was full of glib words and promises, but his actions never matched up. The two men were complete opposites.

"I suppose that is sensible," Martin told her, not totally convinced that she was immune to Terry.

Martin personally hoped that they locked Terry Glasson up and threw away the key. However, he thought he might make a phone call to his legal firm in London to see if they could look into Terry's claim to have been 'set up' when he was trying to go straight – he supposed it could just be plausible. The man was not only Louisa's father, he was also Luke's grandfather after all, so he thought he owed him that much. He wouldn't tell Louisa about this plan just yet though, he didn't want to get her hopes up only to have them dashed again, which he thought was highly probable given Terry's previous form.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**It's not _what_ you know... Chapter 21**

As they walked towards the hospital from the car park, Louisa slipped her hand into Martin's. They hadn't talked much on the journey over, both lost in their own thoughts for now. They'd agreed not to discuss all the possible problems that could be found during the scan. If anything was found, they would talk about it then, they decided that there was no point in worrying themselves unnecessarily. Louisa loved the feel of Martin's big, strong hand, it felt so secure and comforting. She took a big breath to calm her nerves, and felt a reassuring squeeze back from his hand. She smiled up at him, trying to gauge his feelings but as usual his face was a closed book. However, he didn't let go of her hand but instead tightened his grip on her much smaller hand.

As they walked into the hospital, the familiar antiseptic smell hit them. Louisa wrinkled her nose up in disgust, she didn't like hospitals very much at all. Martin, on the other hand, seemed to revel in it, throwing his shoulders back and enjoying the familiar environment.

Walking up to the reception desk at the antenatal clinic, memories flooded back to Louisa of her previous visits to this very clinic. Sitting waiting for ages by herself to hear her name. Jumping when she finally heard '_Louisa__Glasson'_ called out. Edith saying '_no,__he__won't__cooperate'_ about Martin. Worrying when it seemed that they had found something wrong with her baby on the scan. Watching other couples excited reactions to their scan- together. She shook herself to get rid of those memories, and announced to the woman at the desk.

"Louisa Ellingham... Mrs... Mrs Louisa Ellingham." She still found it strange to call herself by that name. In her mind she was still Miss Louisa Glasson, but she had her husband, all 6' 3" of him, standing next to her to remind her of his existence. He remained silent for now, just glancing round impatiently, never liking being kept waiting, or any hint of inefficiency from admin staff.

"Ah yes, Mrs Ellingham, I'll just let Mr Stewart's secretary know you're here," the receptionist said as she picked up her phone and made a quick call. Very soon an efficient looking middle aged lady appeared and escorted them to a plush office to wait. Louisa was surprised, having expected to join the hoards in the main waiting area.

"Mr Stewart won't be long, he's on his way, can I get you a tea or coffee?" she enquired. When they both declined, she left them alone in the office to wait.

"How come I'm getting to see the consultant, are they expecting me to have problems or something, is it because I'm 'geriatric'?" Louisa asked Martin in a loud whisper.

Before Martin could answer, the door opened and Charles Stewart the consultant walked in.

**xXx**

Chris Parsons had called in to see Charles Stewart one morning, and had mentioned to him about Martin Ellingham's wife being booked in for antenatal care for her pregnancy and how he had recommended that she be booked under his care.

"Ah yes, Martin Ellingham, the vascular surgeon, now doing great things at his surgery – that's the one isn't it? Sure, I'd be glad to undertake his wife's care, be interested to meet him too. Leave it with me, I'll take make the arrangements this end," Charles had assured Chris.

"I'd appreciate that, Louisa was caused unnecessary worry during her previous pregnancy due to a very insensitive consultant at this hospital," Chris told him raising his eyebrows - he didn't name any names, but Charles knew immediately who he was talking about.

"Right, I see, well I will do my utmost to ensure that won't be the case this time," he replied.

Charles Stewart was a meticulous and extremely thorough consultant, he hadn't built up his excellent reputation without good reason. He took the time to read through all of the notes in Louisa's hospital file before her appointment, and was not at all impressed by what he found.

'_Very__little__information__received__from__the__London__hospital__where__she__had__her__initial__booking__and__12__week__scan.__Very__basic__scan__undertaken__by__them.__Hardly__any__information__about__her__care__at__this__hospital,__scan__at__24__weeks__completely__misinterpreted,__no__blood__tests__done__to__monitor__for__anaemia__ – __very__poor__show.__Well__things__won't__be__like__that__this__time__around'_he decided_._

**xXx**

Louisa was pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of the man who walked into the room and greeted them. He was a rather good looking man of around the same age as Martin, but much shorter, with dark hair now heavily flecked with grey, wearing a beautifully cut suit which looked as if it could have come from the same tailor that Martin used.

"Ah Louisa, pleased to meet you, and Martin too," he said as he shook both their hands. "Now I understand that there were some issues regarding effective communication during your previous pregnancy, so I want to reassure you that there will be no such problems this time around. I will explain everything to you as fully as I can and if anything remains unclear you must feel free to ask me to elaborate," he explained.

Charles had a very easy, open manner which put his patients at ease, and Louisa felt some of her tension lift, she always came to hospital expecting to have to fight to find out what was happening. The London hospital clinic that she had initially attended had been the most impersonal, soul destroying place that she had ever had the misfortune to visit in her opinion, and then to have had to deal with Edith and her intimidating manner here at the hospital in Truro had been another blow.

"Right, OK Mr Stewart, that's good to hear," Louisa smiled at him.

Martin thought to himself '_Certainly__has__a__good__bedside__manner,__let's__hope__that__he's__as__good__in__all__areas'_but he didn't make any comment as yet.

"Right, well, first things first, how have you been feeling?" he asked Louisa.

"Fine, just a bit tired and feeling sick rather a lot," Louisa replied.

"Only to be expected at this stage as I'm sure Martin has explained to you, shows a good healthy level of hormones. Hopefully the sickness should pass pretty soon now, the second trimester is usually much more pleasant and enjoyable, as I expect you found in your first pregnancy," Charles told her.

"Yes, I suppose so." Louisa didn't want to explain that she had been so worried and tired throughout all of her first pregnancy that there hadn't really been any time that she'd felt good.

"Well, I'd just like to do a few preliminary checks myself before you do all the routine checks and form filling with the midwife and then we'll get cracking with your scan," Charles told her as he checked her blood pressure and listened to her heart.

Then he asked her,

"Would you mind lying on the couch and letting me check your tummy now Louisa?" He indicated the couch, and Louisa did as asked. He gently placed his hand just above her pubic bone and said,

"Ah yes, I can just feel the beginnings of your bump, which is consistent with your dates. Right, I'll just take you through to the midwife, once she's finished with you, she'll take you through for your scan. See you in a minute."

All this confirmed what Martin already knew, having checked Louisa himself, he too had felt her uterus starting to rise above her pelvis. He appreciated the fact that Charles was being very thorough and starting from the beginning with all his checks, making no assumptions that could lead to something being missed.

The midwife completed all the necessary paperwork, weighed and measured Louisa, checked her urine sample and took some blood – Martin had already sent off some bloods as part of her initial checks. Louisa wasn't thrilled with having more needles stuck in her but accepted that the checks were necessary.

Finally they went through to the room to have the scan done. By now Louisa was feeling a bit uncomfortable as her bladder needed to be full to get the clearest results from the scan.

Louisa lay on the bed and gripped Martin's hand as he sat on a chair by the bed, both turning to watch the screen. Charles put some cold gel on her tummy, then started moving the transducer, watching intently as the scanning started. Martin gripped Louisa's hand back, but his eyes were also glued to the screen as the image came up.

And there it was. Their baby. Its heart was beating. It was moving around. It was real. Louisa looked at Martin and saw that his face had softened, and he was blinking and swallowing hard. She smiled happily at him and squeezed his hand, thrilled to finally see the baby she was carrying.

"Does everything look alright?" she asked anxiously as Charles concentrated hard on the image on the screen

"Everything looks fine so far Louisa – just one baby, that's the first thing to confirm," Charles reassured her. "I've just checked the Nuchal translucency at the back of baby's neck and that looks perfectly normal, and I can see the nasal bone, so that's a good sign." These were important checks for Down's syndrome that Louisa had been worried about due to the increased risk with her age.

"Crown Rump length is 5.8cm which is a good size for dates, puts the date of conception as 29th July. Does that sound about right to you?" Charles asked them.

"Yes that is consistent with the facts," Martin answered briefly. Conception could have been any night that week, he knew from his trusty spreadsheet. It had been a very pleasurable week, baby making was a lot of fun, he remembered with a smile.

"Heart looks normal, heart beat is around 130 per minutes, well within the normal range," Charles informed them. "Biparetal diameter and femur length also consistent with dates and in normal range. That's the head size and leg length," Charles explained to Louisa. He continued methodically with all the checks of the baby's anatomy, finally telling them,

"Everything looks perfectly normal and as it should be at this stage. You are 12 weeks and 1 day pregnant, and your estimated delivery date is confirmed as 21st April," Charles said. He printed out some pictures of the scan for them to take away.

Martin was struggling to control his emotions as he looked at the screen, at the new life that they had made together that was now developing perfectly, so he said very little. But Louisa knew by looking into his eyes how deeply moved he felt, and didn't mind that he wasn't saying anything for now – that was Martin after all. She squeezed his hand again, and embarrassed him a little by pulling him to her and kissing him before becoming tearful and burying her head in his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so relieved and so happy," she apologised to Charles.

"No apologies needed, that's just how you _should_ feel. When you're ready, come through to my office, I'll clarify any queries for you and run through what happens next, OK?" he told her as he disappeared to write up his notes while she cleared the gel from her tummy and sorted out her clothes.

Martin helped Louisa to get down from the bed, and gave her a little hug as he did so, but still didn't say anything as they went into Charles's office and sat down.

"So, all good news for you, thus far. We've also had the blood test results through from the sample Martin forwarded previously, and those results combined with the scan give no indication of any chromosomal abnormalities. I see no need for any invasive tests at this stage which are sometimes recommended for pregnant women of your age Louisa. Would you agree Martin?" Charles turned to Martin for his response.

"I agree, there would appear to be no need to undertake such procedures," Martin concurred. He'd been very impressed by the thoroughness of the scan that Charles had performed, he'd checked everything that it was possible to check. Louisa couldn't have had any better care if she had paid to go privately he knew. Chris had been right to recommend the man.

"So if everything is normal for this stage, what could show up in the future that you can't see now?" Louisa worried.

"Sometimes the baby doesn't continue to grow and develop as expected, that's why we do another detailed scan at around 20 weeks, an anomaly check it's sometimes called. It's usually after this scan that I discuss birthing options as by then we have a better idea of any other factors that might influence your choices. Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much at this stage Louisa, the scan of your baby was about as normal and healthy as it's possible to be at this stage. But in view of your history of anaemia and fainting, I would like to keep quite a close eye on you, so I'll book you in for a check up with me next month. In the meantime don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any concerns, although I'm certain that Martin will be able to answer any questions for you in any case. Seems to be taking excellent care of you so far anyhow."

He shook both their hands as they got up to leave. Louisa left the room before Martin as she needed to go to the loo very urgently now, so Martin took the chance to have a quiet word with Charles Stewart.

"Louisa has been very worried because of her age and possible chromosomal defects with the baby however much I've tried to reassure her, so I appreciate your thoroughness, and also the fact that you are going to closely monitor her. I warn you that she can be very stubborn and independent, and tends to overdo things - she has a very demanding job as a Head Teacher. However, I have a feeling that she will listen to you if you advise her to take things easy, tells me not to fuss if I try," Martin confided in Charles.

As Louisa's husband this time round he was entitled to express his opinion and be involved and it felt very good to him. He'd been very frustrated during Louisa's previous pregnancy at not being allowed to intervene at all. There had been times when he'd felt like nothing more than a sperm donor whose services were no longer required.

"Between us both I think that we can ensure that she continues in excellent health," Charles agreed. "Give me a call anytime if you have any concerns that you think I should be aware of."

Charles knew of Martin's reputation as a gruff man of little words, and that had been the case today, but he noted that he had been very emotional during the scan, and that he was very protective towards his younger, beautiful wife. He also appreciated the professional respect that Martin had shown him and decided that he rather liked the man. Chris Parsons had certainly spoken very highly of him, of both of them actually, they were obviously good friends. He had enjoyed doing the scan today, he didn't get to do them very often these days. He'd seen the surprised look on both the midwife's face and also the sonographer when he'd said that he wanted this patient fast tracked through and that he was doing the scan himself. Well there had to be some perks to being a doctor's wife after all.

**xXx**

As they walked out of the hospital together, Louisa turned to Martin, smiling broadly and slipping her arm through his.

"We really are having a baby, aren't we?" she said squeezing his arm.

"Certainly seems that way," Martin agreed, smiling himself. He was very happy indeed with how things had gone, and was particularly reassured by the fact that Charles Stewart was going to keep a close eye on Louisa, just as he wanted. He made a mental note to thank Chris for recommending the man and putting in a word with him.

"How come I got the V.I.P. treatment then, have you been pulling strings Martin?" Louisa asked him. She felt uncomfortable with the thought of being treated differently from everyone else.

"No, I merely asked Chris to recommend the best consultant, which he did, and he may have mentioned to Charles that you received less than satisfactory care for your first pregnancy." Martin stated.

"So you and Chris did pull strings then. I'm not sure if I feel comfortable about that," Louisa told him, which wasn't strictly true, she had been very reassured by Charles Stewart. He certainly hadn't told her to '_stop__talking'_ when she'd asked if everything was alright, unlike Edith.

"Look Louisa, when the day comes that Luke moves on from your school, no doubt you will consult with the staff at the new school to ensure that he gets the best education, won't you?" Martin asked her.

"Well, I suppose so," Louisa agreed.

"Well this is the same thing, isn't it? Making sure that you and the baby receive the best possible care, that's all that Chris and I are doing. Would you rather be at the back of the queue, not sure what's going on, dealing with some junior doctor who doesn't know his arse from his elbow, or some arrogant consultant who can't be bothered to explain anything, worrying yourself silly?" Martin asked her.

That was pretty much what had happened last time round, and Louisa knew that she would be a hypocrite if she said she would prefer that.

"No, I suppose I wouldn't. And Mr Stewart seems really nice, doesn't he Martin? He definitely put me at my ease, I can't tell you how nervous I was," she now confessed.

"I think I have some idea," Martin had been just as nervous as Louisa even if he didn't show it. "And yes, he seems reasonably adequate."

"Don't forget to phone Joan, she'll be wondering how we got on, we've been much longer than I expected because he went into such detail. My scan last time only took a few minutes, I spent more time waiting to go in than having the actual scan," Louisa said to him as they reached his car.

Martin phoned Joan as they sat in the car before they drove off. They'd arranged that she would pick Luke up from nursery and bring him back to their house to look after him so that they didn't have to worry about being back in time.

"Auntie Joan, it's me," Martin said when she picked up the phone at their house.

"Well, how did it go, is everything alright?" she asked anxiously. She'd been waiting for their call for what seemed like ages, and she'd begun to get worried that something was amiss. Luckily Luke had kept her pretty occupied to take her mind off the wait, he'd been delighted to have his Grannie with him who gave him her full undivided attention and played with him all the time. Luke had a very special bond with Joan.

"Yes everything is fine, all went well, we'll fill you in when we get back, but no problems at this stage," Martin told her.

"Oh, thank goodness for that, that's wonderful, you must both be so relieved," Joan told him, hugging herself happily. "Would you like me to get supper ready for you for when you get back, or are you going to go out somewhere and celebrate?" Joan offered.

"Umm, I'm not sure, I'll just ask." Martin turned to Louisa and explained Joan's offer to her.

"Let's go out and celebrate, we haven't been out for ages, we can go to the pub for a change," Louisa replied.

"We'll eat out, if you're sure you'll be OK with Luke," Martin told Joan.

"That's fine. Luke and I will have a nice time just the two of us, you go ahead and have a nice time together," Joan happily agreed.

"OK, see you later then," Martin told her, ending the call and starting his car.

They'd been driving for a little while when Louisa said,

"Actually I'm starving now you've mentioned food, I couldn't eat much at lunchtime, I was too nervous, so can we stop off to eat somewhere on the way back pretty soon Martin, would you mind?"

"You should have said while we were in Truro, I'm not sure where we can stop now on the way back that does food," Martin said.

"Actually I think that the next nearest place is 'The Coach and Four' – you know, where Luke made his unplanned arrival," Louisa told him. They'd never been back to the place since that day.

"You really want to go there? I'd have thought... anyway, I'm not sure that they serve food all day," Martin replied, but anxious to find somewhere for Louisa if she was actually admitting to feeling hungry. He bet that she hadn't had any lunch, he knew her well enough by now to know that when she was nervous, worried or upset she simply didn't eat at all. He didn't want her passing out due to low blood sugar again.

"Well they did before because I remember focusing on the menu board to distract me from the pain of the contractions actually. I could just murder a chicken caeser salad and I remember that being listed as a special. We could call in to see, if not then we'll just carry on back to the village," Louisa suggested.

"OK if that's what you want," Martin agreed, and so he pulled into the pub car park.

**xXx**

The place hadn't changed at all in the year or so since their last visit. Still the same red orange walls, dark beams, dark wood furniture and flagstone floor. The couch that she had given birth on had gone though –giving birth is a messy, bloody business, and the paramedics had had only a limited supply of sterile underlays. She felt a bit guilty about that, but it had seen better days in any case. There still wasn't a soul in the pub, and she wondered how on earth they kept going with so few customers.

As they walked up to the bar, the same man appeared to serve them. Balding, wearing a check shirt and jeans with braces that Louisa thought could very well be the same ones that he had been wearing that day. He still sported the same moustache and his beer gut had not diminished in any way – occupational hazard when running a pub she guessed. He'd been quick enough to open a bottle of bubbly to 'wet the baby's head' even though no one else was in a position to have an alcoholic drink, so he must have drunk it all himself.

"You're that couple that had the baby here last year aren't you?" The Inn keeper said, staring at them. "You don't forget something like that in a hurry, I can tell you." _And__I__haven't__forgotten__that__tosser__calling__me__an__officious__little__oaf,__even__if__he__was__a__doctor,__that__didn't__excuse__him_, the Inn keeper thought to himself.

"Full marks for observation. Now can we see your menu or is it too much to hope that you might possibly serve something that could pass as reasonably adequate food?" Martin was looking behind the bar to see if everything looked at least basically hygienic.

'_Still__the__same__charming__manner__then'_thought the Inn keeper, as he passed them two menus.

Louisa nudged Martin and looked daggers at him. Why did he have to be so abrasive sometimes, she wondered. She knew how obsessive he was about hygiene standards, but she only wanted something simple and she was starving now.

"Could I have one of your chicken caeser salads please, and a glass of water. Martin...what are you going to have?" Louisa asked him.

"Oh I'll just have the same, keep it simple, don't want to overburden him when he's run off his feet with so many customers," Martin replied sarcastically, looking round at the empty pub.

The memories that were flooding back to him from their last visit here were unsettling him and making him tetchy. He knew that it hadn't been his finest hour, he'd panicked when Louisa had gone into labour, he'd still been in shock after coming across the crashed taxi and fearing the worst for Louisa. But he knew that it was unforgivable for a doctor, he should have remained calm and in control even if he was personally involved. Instead he'd shouted and blustered at everyone including Louisa. Looking back he couldn't really blame her for throwing him out, or the paramedic for telling him '_The__less__you__speak,__the__better__it__is__for__everyone'_Thank God that everything had turned out well in the end, he would never have forgiven himself if it hadn't.

"You're in early, gets much busier later I'll have you know," the Inn keeper told him huffily as he went off with their food order.

"Come on Martin, let's sit down at the table by the window," Louisa said.

As they sat and waited for their food, Louisa smiled at Martin and got out her picture from the scan and sat looking at it with him.

"It's still so tiny, but perfect, isn't it?" Louisa said to him.

"The measurements are appropriate to the gestational age of the foetus, and no defects were observed," Martin replied.

"Oh go on, you're allowed to say something nice, or something soppy, you don't always have to be a doctor Martin, this is _our_ baby after all," Louisa teased him.

"Well naturally I'm pleased that everything was normal and that there is every indication that this pregnancy will continue to develop normally," Martin responded.

Louisa sighed. She knew that he felt just as excited, elated even, as she did, but he still struggled to voice these thoughts out loud. She supposed that they were out in a public place, and that maybe when they were alone together, maybe tonight, maybe then he would relax a little and tell her how he really felt.

The Inn keeper walked up to their table with their food order, and saw them looking at the scan picture, having overheard enough of their conversation to put two and two together.

"Don't tell me, you were so impressed with the facilities last time that you've come back to book your next baby's delivery here," he said with a twinkle in his eye, ignoring Martin's horrified look as he put the plates down with a flourish before returning to the bar.


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Make hay while the sun shines - Chapter 22**

"Mmm... Martin, that was really pretty amazing, wouldn't you agree?" Louisa said as she cuddled up to him in bed just after they had made love. She was wearing a very satisfied smile as she kissed his cheek and ran her hands over his chest.

"Yes, I think I have to agree with you," Martin said, also wearing a big smile. Making love to Louisa had certainly felt more wonderful than ever to him too.

"Do you think it was because it's been a while, it was just so...very intense?" Louisa asked him.

"Possibly. You may also be experiencing heightened sensations due to an increase in hormone levels and a higher blood flow to your pelvic region," Martin informed her.

"Well whatever the reason, I'm not complaining," Louisa told him as she relaxed with a contented sigh and settled down to sleep.

**xXx**

Now nearly 15 weeks pregnant, Louisa was feeling on top of the world. Having had the all clear at her 12 week scan, she felt a bit more able to relax and look forward to their baby. Also her sickness and exhaustion had magically stopped.

"It's as if someone has flicked a switch, I feel _so_ much better now," she told Martin happily.

"I'm glad to hear it, but it still doesn't mean that you should overdo things," Martin warned her.

"Oh don't worry so much, I'm fine, that's what Mr Stewart said after all," Louisa reminded him.

"Hmm... yes and he said that you need careful monitoring as well if you recall, exactly as I've been telling you," Martin pointed out. He'd been very pleased and reassured that Charles Stewart had picked up on exactly the areas of concern that he himself had.

Louisa felt able to tell the School Governors of her pregnancy now. She'd been worried about their reaction to her having another baby so soon after Luke. Although legally there was nothing they could say about it, she was worried that they might put obstacles in her way. So she had worked out some proposals that she felt might ease her announcement. Although Mr Strain had eventually been retired on medical grounds, he'd not been a popular Head Master in any case. He'd been very old fashioned and unwilling to push forward with any changes for the school, but at the time their choice of suitably qualified candidates had been limited as they had had to find a replacement at very short notice when Louisa had left for London in such a hurry after the non wedding. Then they had had to find another stand in at short notice when Louisa had decided to take longer for her maternity leave than she'd originally planned, and although initially Neil Godwin had seemed ideal, it later transpired that he didn't actually do very much of the paperwork and administration that makes up a large part of the head teachers role.

So Louisa knew that the Governors would not be thrilled at the prospect of having to find another acting head. Therefore she was going to propose that Emma Greenway should take over as acting head, and that they employ a teacher on a fixed term contract to take over her classroom duties for the duration. She was going to suggest offering the position to Roger Fenn first, he was finding the travelling to Truro for his current job a bit too much. If it transpired that he wasn't interested, there were many other highly qualified teachers who undertook this kind of temporary work to fit around other commitments, so there should be no trouble in finding a suitable member of staff, especially as Louisa was giving them plenty of notice this time.

However Louisa foresaw that she was going to have a battle with Martin about when she proposed to go on maternity leave. She told him that she wanted to work right up to the Easter holidays, meaning that she would only have a couple of weeks off before the baby was due.

"For God's sake Louisa, surely you can't be serious, there's absolutely no need for you to work virtually until the baby comes. What if it comes early like Luke, you'll be exhausted, especially with a toddler to look after as well. Why do you always have to push yourself so hard?" he asked her in frustration. "Why don't you give up work at Christmas, give yourself plenty of time to rest and get ready for the birth?"

"I worked right up until the day I gave birth last time if you recall and I was fine, and anyway I'd be bored at home, especially with Luke having his place at nursery, which he loves now," Louisa told him.

"Well if I had had any say in the matter you wouldn't have worked full time right up until Luke was born, as you well know," Martin pointed out. "It's not as if there is any financial need this time, nor was there last time if you had taken up my offer of financial support, which I tried to sort out with you several times."

Martin still felt resentful of the fact that people seemed to think that he'd been mean and tight fisted towards Louisa, making her stay at the pub when she'd first returned, and having to work because he wasn't supporting her. Those had been _her_ choices over which he had had no control.

"Well I'm not the kind of woman who likes to be kept, nor did I expect the state to look after me while I lounged around at home and claimed benefits," Louisa told him, aware that this conversation had the potential to escalate into a very nasty full blown row full of recriminations and 'what if's'. She very sensibly decided to change tack, there was nothing to be gained by re-opening old wounds, what was done was done after all.

"Look how about we compromise? Suppose I give up work at the end of February half term, that's ages before the baby's due, and then I'll stay at home, put my feet up and let you pamper me to your heart's content," Louisa offered, now putting her arms inside his jacket and around his waist to cuddle up to him. She felt so happy at the moment, the last thing wanted to do was argue with Martin. He was just so old fashioned in his protectiveness, but she remembered Joan's wise words about letting him help her and needing to look after her. She knew that she shouldn't feel guilty about leaving her job when she was giving them plenty of notice to make arrangements this time, and she could always pop in when dropping Luke at nursery after all...

"Really? That sounds more reasonable I suppose," Martin was pleasantly surprised at Louisa's offer, he'd fully expected her to insist on working to the bitter end, and so was relieved at her change of heart. He held her tightly as she nestled against him, thanking his lucky stars that things were so different this time, that he was finally being allowed to look after her.

"But no sneaking into work when you're taking Luke to nursery." Martin had quickly figured out how Louisa's mind was working, and spotted the loophole in her proposal.

"I don't know what you mean," Louisa said as she kissed him, realising once again that he was nobody's fool and actually knew her pretty well by now. However she had always intended to go on her maternity leave at the end of February, but she'd known that if she had suggested that straight away, Martin wouldn't have agreed as easily as he had now. She knew him pretty well too.

**xXx**

The School Governors offered their congratulations and accepted Louisa's proposal, they all agreed that it offered the best way forward. They did not want to lose their fantastic Head Mistress who had made their school one of the best in the country, so were prepared to be very flexible regarding her maternity leave, much to Louisa's relief.

Emma Greenway was delighted to agree to step up as acting head once Louisa went on maternity leave. There was no formal deputy head position at such a small school, so this was a fantastic opportunity, with plenty of time for a thorough hand over, with Louisa nearby if she needed any further advice. The next step was to approach Roger Fenn to see if he would be interested in the temporary role, which Louisa was given the go ahead to do.

So on the last day of school before the October half term, a news letter went home with the children containing the announcement of Louisa's pregnancy and the arrangements that would be put in place. She hoped that by the time the children came back to school it would be old news.

Of course the news spread like wildfire throughout the village.

"I could hear the jungle drums beating from my surgery the second the school doors opened," Martin grumbled later to Louisa.

Pauline came storming into his surgery in between two patients within ten minutes of the newsletter being handed out, waving one in her hand.

"Is it true, you're having another baby?" she asked him incredulously. She didn't think he had it in him, to ...you know...it was a bit like thinking of your parents _doing__it_, as far as she was concerned.

"No, I'm not, that would be medically impossible," Martin replied, writing up his notes and not looking up at her.

"Oh you know what I mean, Louisa's having another baby, that's what this school newsletter says," Pauline said irritably. She thought that he might have told her first, surely as his right hand person she was entitled to know such a juicy piece of gossip before the rest of the village.

"Well if that's what it says, it must be true then." Martin was giving nothing away, much to Pauline's frustration.

"Next patient!" he shouted out, glaring at Pauline to leave his consulting room as the next patient made their way in.

He groaned out loud as the first thing his next patient said to him was,

"Is it really true then, you're having another baby?" as she waved a school newsletter at him.

**xXx**

"Did you really have to broadcast the news of your pregnancy in your blasted newsletter? Every single patient for the rest of the afternoon wanted to know all about it," Martin complained bitterly to Louisa that evening as they sat together with Luke having their supper. He had known of her plans to make the announcement, but naively hadn't anticipated the extreme level of interest it would create.

"Once the School Governors knew, everyone was going to know in any case Martin, and I wanted to get all the arrangements agreed in plenty of time so that I could relax and get on with training Emma for an easy, well organised handover this time. You keep telling me that stress is bad for me in my condition after all," Louisa told him.

"Hmm, I suppose so. Seems I get the stress of all these wretched nosy villagers wanting to know our business instead," Martin continued grumbling.

"Don't worry, it'll soon be old news, especially as they won't be gossiping outside the school gates for the next week anyway as it's half term," Louisa reassured him, knowing how intensely he resented any kind of intrusion into their personal life.

They had been so busy discussing their day that they momentarily took their eyes off Luke, not noticing that he had managed to get hold of his bowl of food. They were disturbed from their conversation by the sound of his bowl dropping on the floor, with the entire contents now spread all over the floor. Luke looked over the edge of his highchair.

"Oh _no_," he said in his little baby voice, shaking his head and pointing his finger as the mess.

"Oh yes young man, I'm afraid your supper _is_ all over the floor," Louisa told him with a resigned sigh. This was the second time this week he'd done the same thing, trying to feed himself.

"He's so determined to do it by himself and be independent, he doesn't want any help," Louisa said crossly.

"Hmm. Can't think who he takes after there, can you? Frustrating, isn't it?" Martin told her pointedly with a smirk on his face.

**xXx**

"So what do you reckon about the Doc and Louisa then eh Dad? I always thought he was a bit of a dark horse, you know, behind closed doors and all that."

Al chatted to his Dad as they were working together in the kitchen of their restaurant the morning after the school newsletter had gone out. It had been the main topic of conversation of most of their customers the previous evening.

"Well my boy, to tell the truth I was a bit surprised to hear about another baby on the way, I thought maybe they was gonna be a bit like that old joke," Bert replied.

"What joke's that then?" Al asked.

Bert replied "You know the one that goes...

'Man says to the woman, 'Would you like a drink?'

She replies 'No thanks, I don't drink, I tried it once and didn't like it'

Man says to the woman 'Would you like a cigarette?'

She replies 'No thanks, I don't smoke, I tried it once and didn't like it'

Woman says to the man 'I have to go and meet my son now'

Man says to woman 'Your only child I presume' "

They sniggered together before Al said to his Dad

"No, I think you've got them all wrong, I reckon the Doc and Louisa are quite partial to a bit of the old humpty-rumpty, all that sneaking off home at lunchtimes, I told Pauline before about them having a bit of 'afternoon delight', but she wouldn't hear a word of it. She seems to think that he's above such things, just because he's the Doc, as if that means he isn't a normal bloke underneath it all. She probably thinks this latest one is a test tube baby or something."

"No, I'm sorry, putting the 'Doc', and 'normal bloke' together in the same sentence is just one step too far my boy. You must be a bit Bodmin yourself if you really believe that," Bert told Al, looking at him now as if he was completely mad.

**xXx**

Martin took a deep breath before entering Mrs Tishell's Chemist shop. She always tried to engage him in some pseudo medical conversation, claiming to be a fellow professional. But ever since that horrendously embarrassing episode when she'd managed to plant a kiss on his lips, he'd avoided going into her shop if at all possible, sending Pauline in to collect his supplies instead. And as for that appalling personalised yellow jumper that she'd presented him with – even the dustman had refused to take it, throwing it out of his dustbin, saying that it should be put in the clothes recycling.

But now he had no option but to go into her establishment – he'd promised Louisa that he would pick up some more nappies for Luke, they had very nearly run out, each thinking that the other was going to buy some more and the mini market had run out of the size they needed.

"Oh hello Doctor Ellingham, I've been hoping you'd call in, it's been quite a while," Mrs Tishell gushed at him and smiled in what she thought was an enticing manner.

"Nappies, those one's there please." Martin pointed to a large packet as he took his wallet out to pay.

"I heard about your news...another baby," Mrs Tishell said in a loud whisper, shaking her head sadly.

"Nappies please Mrs Tishell," Martin prompted her.

"You do know that I always stock a full range of condoms, femidoms, spermicides, birth control pills, morning after pills. You know you didn't have to be caught out in such a way, if you really couldn't resist... I'd always open up my shop for you, I'm always here for you," Mrs Tishell told him mournfully. In some ways she blamed herself, maybe she'd originally put the idea in Louisa's head about seducing Martin when she'd told her:

'_All__men__are__the__same.__They__can't__help__it,__if__it's__thrown__down__on__a__plate__in__front__of__them,__they__grab__a__knife__and__fork'_

Of course that was when they'd been talking about Carrie Wilson, but now look what had happened. That Louisa Glasson had trapped the poor Doc, he was a man after all, with a man's' needs, she knew all about that from Clive. Fancy getting herself pregnant not just once but twice now. She'd noticed that the Doc hadn't been in to her shop much recently, he obviously felt just as strongly as her after their kiss, he couldn't trust himself near her. He was such an honourable man, trapped with that harpy now - what a waste.

Martin lost patience with Mrs Tishell, who was now just staring at him with a faraway look in her eyes, so he grabbed a packet of nappies, saying,

"Just put these on my personal account," as he disappeared out of the door and strode off down the road.

"Parting is such sweet sorrow," she murmured to herself, as she watched him go.

**xXx**

"Mrs Ellingham for you," Pauline told Martin as she put the call through. She had been told countless times by Martin that any call from Louisa was to be put through immediately.

Luckily Martin was between patients at that moment.

"Louisa – what's the matter?" Martin asked anxiously. Louisa hardly ever rang him during surgery hours knowing how busy he usually was, so he assumed that it must be important. She was at home at the beginning of half term, having taken Luke to nursery today so that she could get on with some jobs without having to watch Luke the whole time as he could be such a pickle - he was a very inquisitive little boy. After today she planned to spend more time with him though, once her jobs were out of the way.

"Nothing, I was just wondering if you would have time to come back during your lunch break, I need you for something," Louisa explained.

"What, what do you need me for? Are you unwell?" Martin quizzed her.

"No I'm fine, just if you've got time, can you come home, that's all, I'll explain then," Louisa told him brightly.

"Barring an emergency, I should be back at around one, but I wish you'd tell me..."

"Bye Martin, see you then," Louisa said as she hung up the phone.

**xXx**

Martin let himself in through the front door, and called out when he didn't immediately see Louisa.

"Louisa, where are you, are you alright?"

"I'm up here," Louisa called to him from their bedroom.

Martin ran up the stairs, really worried now that something was badly wrong if she was in bed.

As he walked into their bedroom, he was met by Louisa, wearing just a silky little dressing gown with nothing on underneath. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately, and then started pulling his jacket off.

"Louisa, what are you doing, I thought you were ill..." Martin was struggling to comprehend what was going on.

Louisa started loosening his tie and murmured in his ear.

"I told you Martin I _need_ you," as she now unbuttoned his shirt.

"You mean...you want to..._now_?" Martin was finally getting the picture as Louisa's dressing gown came undone, revealing her fuller curvier figure. She didn't have a proper pregnancy bump yet.

"Yes, I want you to..." She whispered in his ear just _exactly_ what she wanted him to do.

"Louisa! I'm not sure..." Martin was rather shocked by how she was acting and what she had just said. However when Louisa turned her attention to undoing his trousers, she knew that he didn't really have any doubts by his very evident response.

"Martin, it's your _duty_ to attend to my needs, and it seems that being pregnant has increased my ...needs... in certain areas. I can't help it, it must be my raging hormones, as you keep telling me," Louisa now pushed him back towards their bed.

"Well.. err.. there are a number of reliable studies showing that during the middle trimester of pregnancy a woman's libido can temporarily increase significantly." Martin found himself now getting into bed with Louisa, his remaining clothes having been quickly discarded.

"There you are then. Medical fact. I needed a home visit from my doctor," Louisa told him as she kissed his neck and ran her hands through his hair.

Martin thought he might as well 'go with the flow', because he knew that this phase wouldn't last for long. Who was he to argue with his pregnant wife when she demanded that he attend to her urgent medical needs?


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Duty Bound - Chapter 23**

As Louisa and Luke sat having their breakfast one morning during half term week, Martin walked into the kitchen carrying his medical bag, having been called out earlier that morning. When his 'on call' duties covered these hours, he started his surgery later to compensate.

"Hope I didn't disturb you too much when I went out," he apologised. His phone ringing in the quiet of the night or early morning was always disturbing, however low he turned the ringer down, he knew. But Louisa didn't want him to sleep in the spare room any more even when he was on call. She had got used to going back to sleep when he went out, what she found much harder was trying to sleep in their bed by herself, especially as she loved the way that Martin liked to cuddle up to her and put his hand on her belly before he went to sleep. Louisa couldn't wait for him to be able to feel the baby kick and move, she knew that he would be really thrilled by it. Her big tough, gruff Martin had turned into a big softie as far as this pregnancy was concerned, it was a side of him she could never have imagined, or rather she never let herself imagine, when she'd been pregnant alone and in London. He regularly brought home his foetal heart monitor, and on the pretext of 'checking her over' listened to the baby's heartbeat, both of them wearing big silly grins on their faces as they listened. She was being more relaxed about letting him fuss and look after her, because it let him show how much he cared, how much he'd changed – at least in _showing_ how he felt, she knew that actually he had always been very sensitive and caring under that hard exterior that he chose to show the world.

"No, it's fine, I quickly went back to sleep," she replied, kissing his cheek as he made himself some coffee. "Why don't you go and rest before you have to go to work, I'll keep Luke as quiet as possible for you."

Luke was preoccupied at the moment – Louisa had bought a new bowl for him, one that had a big sucker on the bottom to fix it to his high chair tray, and he was trying very hard to lift it and to work out why he couldn't.

"No, it's not worth it, I'm wide awake now," Martin replied. His call out had been to a young child with breathing difficulties, and even though the boy had now gone off to hospital in an ambulance, his mind was still very active analysing all the symptoms and possible diagnosis.

Soon after they had started sleeping together, they'd agreed that it was not a good idea to start any romantic activities if Martin was on call, there was nothing more frustrating that having to stop when his phone rang, as it invariably did at a critical moment. Bearing in mind Louisa's current needs, Martin thought he'd better say something to her.

"So er...I don't think I can easily come back at lunchtime today with it being a late start for my surgery session this morning, so I suggest that maybe we have an early night tonight instead, if you still... umm... 'need' me," Martin said to her. She'd told him it was his duty to satisfy her needs and he was going to be very conscientious in not neglecting these duties for as long as they lasted.

"Sounds perfect to me," Louisa replied, cuddling him from behind and leaning against him.

"So, what are you going to do today, what are your plans?" Martin asked her, to distract him from the response that her close physical contact always elicited from him.

"Well, Luke isn't going to nursery, we are going to have a lovely day together, aren't we?" Louisa told Luke as he banged his spoon in his porridge in frustration at not being able to pick up his bowl.

"I thought that while I'm playing with him, I can sort out his toys and put away some of them that he doesn't play with any more. I need to go up in the loft anyhow, I'm struggling to fit into a lot of my normal clothes, and I've got all my maternity clothes stored up there that I need to sort through before I buy any more, so I thought that I could put the toys away at the same time," Louisa explained.

"You're not going up in the loft by yourself, that means going up the ladder and climbing over things up there," Martin told her, horrified.

"Oh for goodness sake Martin, we've got a proper loft ladder, and all I want to do is put a bag up and get a bag down, nothing heavy or difficult. Don't worry so much," Louisa told him.

"No, Louisa, I really would prefer it if you waited until I'm home, and then I'll do it for you," Martin pleaded with her.

"Well I suppose I could get everything bagged up ready, and then you could give me a hand when you get home. But it really isn't necessary," Louisa sighed "Anyway, later on Joan's coming down and we're going to walk down to the playground with Luke, he loves the swings there."

"You're going to brave the village – good luck to you then, hope you've got all day," Martin told her, thinking about his experience with the nosy villagers wanting to know all about Louisa's pregnancy.

**xXx**

Of course, all the toys that Luke had shown no interest in at all for ages suddenly became a lot more interesting as soon as she tried to put them away, as fast she put things in the bag, he was pulling them out again, so Louisa gave up, deciding that it was a job better done while he was having a nap. So she took him upstairs with her, making sure to close the stairgate. She started to sort through her clothes, putting those that were too tight in a pile on the bed. Having taken her eyes off Luke for just a minute, she realised that he had gone into their ensuite bathroom, and was happily putting yards of toilet paper into the toilet pan - it was already quite full. Blast Martin for not putting the lid down this morning – she supposed he'd been in a rush going out to his call.

"Luke, no!" she told him. He looked up at her, pointed and said '_Look.._ _water_', before putting some more paper in. He was fascinated because the paper changed as it absorbed the water.

"I said 'no_'_Luke." Louisa now picked him up, carried him out and firmly shut the bathroom door. Luke didn't like this one bit, and cried and struggled to get down.

"Come on, let's go into your room and find something else to do," Louisa said to distract him. She sighed, realising that there was no point in trying to get anything done with Luke on the loose, she might as well just enjoy playing with him until Joan came.

When Joan arrived, she walked round to the kitchen, looked through the window before opening the door and calling out '_only__me'._The kitchen looked as if a bomb had hit it. Luke had finally managed to prise his bowl away from the highchair tray, and it had taken him by surprise as the sucker had suddenly released the bowl, flinging the contents everywhere. Louisa had decided to clear up the mess when Luke was asleep later, it was too difficult with him trying to 'help'.

"We're up here Joan," Louisa called down to her.

As Joan made her way to the stairs, she saw toys all over the lounge floor as she glanced in, and she smiled to herself as she remembered Martin's clinically tidy house before Luke's arrival. She went upstairs and saw Louisa's pile of clothes on the bed and on the floor – Luke had found it fascinating pulling them off the bed, once he started pulling they just slid down, he discovered.

"I see you've been having great fun young man," Joan said, holding out her arms to Luke. He laughed and went to her, saying 'Nannie' – he couldn't quite manage 'Grannie' yet. Joan was more than happy to be called 'Nannie' by him, any version of the title was fine by her.

"I can't get anything done with him around, that's for sure," Louisa told her with a resigned sigh.

"Not worth trying, is it, that's what we say, don't we Luke?" Joan said to Luke, who chuckled in agreement as she cuddled and kissed him.

"I know you're right, but I've got so much to get sorted this week while I'm off, but I didn't want to send Luke to nursery every day. I thought he'd let me do something, but no..." Louisa laughed too as Luke was now shaking his head and saying '_no_' with her.

"Look why don't I take him to the swings and let you get on for a bit?" Joan suggested. "You'll get things sorted in no time at all without your 'helper'."

"Would you mind? If I come to the village we'll be ages judging by Martin's experience of people wanting to know all about our new baby," Louisa said as she patted her tummy.

"Why don't you give me his lunch to take? We can have a little picnic, it's a lovely autumnal day out there, then he can make as much mess as he likes and it won't matter. And maybe then he might have a nap in his buggy if we have a slow walk back afterwards," Joan suggested. Luke had started to be difficult about having his nap, meaning that he was tired and grouchy by late afternoon when it was too near to bedtime to let him have a sleep.

"Yes, well, maybe that would be a good idea if you don't mind. You've seen the mess in the kitchen of course. Was Martin like this? Into everything, so inquisitive and ..." Louisa struggled to find the right words.

"Difficult? Yes he was, but it was only because he was such an intelligent little boy. He needed to understand everything, how things worked, how they came apart. Looks as if Luke is a chip off the old block I'd say," Joan explained. She thought she wouldn't tell Louisa just yet about the dead animals dissected on her kitchen table because Martin wanted to understand their anatomy – that didn't happen until he was a fair bit older after all.

**xXx**

As Louisa finished packing away her clothes that no longer fitted, having quickly cleared up the kitchen and lounge once Luke had gone out with Joan, she heard the phone ringing so went to answer it.

"Hi, it's me. Wasn't sure if you'd be in or not, thought you might be out with Joan, going to the park," Martin said.

He was still worried that Louisa was going to go up in the roof by herself,. He was concerned that she might have another fainting spell if she was lugging bags up and down the ladder, so he wanted to check up on her and remind her not to do it until he got home. He knew what she was like after all, last time she'd been shifting heavy furniture around at seven months pregnant, and Joan was just as bad, she'd been helping her, even with her osteoporosis.

"No, Joan's taken him out to let me finish my sorting. It was a nightmare with Luke 'helping' me, but now I've got it done in just a few minutes by myself," Louisa explained.

"Oh I see. So you haven't been up in the loft yet." Martin was relieved.

"No, I've only just finished bagging it all up," Louisa told him. She had been planning to go up in the roof if she'd got all the bags ready, but now realised that the lecture she would have to endure from Martin wouldn't be worth it. Let him squeeze himself up into the cramped roof space to find the bags she needed if that's what he insisted on, she decided.

"Good, I'll do it tonight for you. All by yourself are you then?" Martin asked her.

"Yes, Joan's taken a picnic for her and Luke to have at the park, and then she's going to take him for a long walk in the hope that he'll go to sleep in the buggy," Louisa told him.

"Actually I've had a couple of cancellations, so I could come home at lunch time, if you... umm..._need_ me for anything at all?" Martin suggested. He wasn't sure how long this current phase of Louisa's was going to last – a couple of days, a couple of weeks – if he was really lucky a couple of months maybe? He supposed that a lot depended on how quickly her bump expanded. In her first pregnancy she'd already been pretty big when she'd first returned to the village at six months pregnant. Her naturally slim figure meant that the bump had been pretty obvious, so he was guessing that she would probably be the same this time round.

"Well Martin, I'm sure that I could find _something_ for you to do for me," Louisa quickly responded.

"Well then hopefully I'll be back about 1:30 today, and my first afternoon appointment now isn't until 3:15 but I really will need to eat something this time," Martin said to her. His early start on the call out meant that he was now rather hungry - last time he'd come home he hadn't actually got round to eating any lunch. Pauline had looked at him very oddly when she'd found him in the kitchen searching for something to eat when he'd just been home for lunch.

"I'll make you a sandwich, it'll be ready and waiting for you after you've competed your... duties," Louisa promised him.

**xXx**

This time when Martin reached their bedroom he had already removed his jacket and tie and was quickly undoing his shirt. He needed no persuasion to join Louisa in bed, the anticipation created by their phone call meant that he was pretty keen and eager. However the way that Louisa had acted towards him last time had played on his mind, it had been different and exciting to him, so he found himself whispering to her,

"Say it again, what you said to me last time, tell me _exactly_ what you want me to do."

This time it was Louisa that was a little shocked, but she repeated the same earthy words that she had used last time, to the same great affect. Their lovemaking was intense and quick, with no need for any elaborate foreplay.

Afterwards, as they happily cuddled together, Martin started to ask,

"Louisa, last time when you were pregnant, did you..."

But their conversation was cut short by the sound of the kitchen door opening and then slamming closed, as Joan returned with Luke. They had been too preoccupied to notice that it had started raining, meaning that Joan had cut short her walk. Luke had already gone to sleep in the buggy anyway, so she'd decided to bring him home to carry on his nap. Usually once he'd gone off he slept pretty soundly, so she tucked his buggy in the corner of the kitchen for him to continue his snooze, snoring gently. He definitely took after Louisa in some things, Martin liked to point out.

"Only me, back from our walk a bit early because it's started raining," Joan called upstairs.

"Ah... umm, I'm just trying on some of my clothes Joan, I'll be down in a minute," Louisa quickly shouted back down.

"OK, I'll pop the kettle on, make a nice cuppa," Joan called back.

"Come on, you'd better get some clothes on pretty damn quick," Louisa said, pushing Martin out of bed as she also leapt out and started throwing her clothes back on.

After a few minutes, Martin appeared in the kitchen.

"Oh hello Marty, come home for your lunch have you?" Joan had seen his car outside on the drive, so she'd made sure that she'd made a lot of noise as she came into the empty kitchen, just in case. Probably a wise move looking at the state of him, she thought with a knowing little smile to herself. She would have disappeared for a while longer, but it was tipping down with rain now.

"Ah...umm.. yes, that's right, and to help Louisa put something up...in the loft," he replied, not looking her in the eye. Not all his shirt buttons were done up, nor was it tucked in properly, Joan noticed. He'd certainly been helping Louisa to put _something_up_,_ that was obvious.

Louisa now appeared in the kitchen too. She looked very healthy and flushed, her cheeks were glowing, Joan noticed as well.

Why on earth it had taken these two so many years to get together when they obviously couldn't keep their hands off each other, Joan was at a loss to understand. Once this next baby was born, they would certainly have to make sure they got a reliable contraceptive sorted out, otherwise they would be having a very large family indeed the way they were going on, she thought to herself.

**xXx**

That evening Martin undertook Luke's bedtime routine because he'd been out in the morning so hadn't got Luke up as he usually did. Louisa loved the fact that Martin was now so involved with his son when his job allowed him to be. He was always very thorough and efficient in handling him, but he too found it a challenge to anticipate what Luke was going to get up to next. It wasn't really naughtiness they realised, it was his naturally inquiring mind, his need to know and understand things that was emerging now that he was an active and mobile toddler. They would have to work out ways to allow him to satisfy his curiosity whilst still ensuring his safety. If this is what Martin had been like as a small child, but with parents who were not interested in allowing him to develop, Louisa could begin to understand how he had learnt to keep his feelings to himself. That was not going to happen with Luke. Neither was he ever going to be punished by being smacked or hit with a belt or being locked in a cupboard under the stairs, of that Louisa was certain. Seeing how Martin was with Luke, she knew that he wasn't capable of treating his little boy that way.

Once Luke was finally asleep for the night, they sat down together on the sofa in their lounge. Martin brought up the subject that he'd been trying to ask about when they'd been interrupted by Joan.

"So...umm..in your previous pregnancy at this stage, did you experience the same increase in your...feelings that you are now?" he asked.

"In what way?" Louisa asked him, having a pretty good idea what he wanted to know but deciding to make him spell it out.

"You know, your increased needs...your desires...your libido," Martin explained.

"You mean was I a raging nymphomaniac then too?" Louisa asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Well, I wouldn't have put it quite like that... I'm just curious to know if what you are experiencing with this pregnancy differs very much from your first. Just for comparison purposes," Martin tried to explain.

"It wouldn't have done me much good if I had felt the same way, I was on my own in case you've forgotten, unless I'd gone out and picked someone up off the street or hired a male escort," Louisa told him, rather annoyed at what he seemed to be implying.

"No! No that's not what I meant. I've been carrying out some research into the various hormonal side effects in pregnancy. Some findings indicate that because male foetuses produce more androgens –the sex hormone that increases libido – an increase in sexual desire in pregnancy suggests that a male child is being carried. So as you had a boy last time, I'm interested in comparing the hormonal balance of your two pregnancies to see how similar or different they are," Martin told her.

"Right. I see." Louisa smiled a little smile to herself. Typical Martin, he had to find a logical explanation, had to find the medical reason to explain why she was feeling as she did – he'd always found hormones and their effects fascinating. He seemed to be suggesting that this would be another baby boy, but she was trying not to think about that, she didn't want to know the sex of the baby until it was born. Even when she had the next detailed scan she didn't want to know – all she needed was confirmation that the baby was healthy and normal, that was all that was important as far as she was concerned.

"Actually Martin, if you want to know the truth, I felt so tired, stressed, and worried when I was pregnant on my own in London that sex was absolutely the last thing on my mind. I felt a lot happier and relaxed once I was settled back here in the village, but by then I was huge as I'm sure you recall, so again, sex was the last thing on my mind. And anyway, you were unavailable to me," Louisa pointed out.

"I see." Martin felt all his guilty pangs at Louisa having to cope on her own last time resurfacing. It must have been bloody awful for her if she was actually admitting it to him instead of telling him it had been fine as she usually did.

"But you are available now Martin, and with all this talk of libido and hormones, I think we should carry out some medical research of our own," Louisa told him as she moved across to straddle his lap, kissing his neck and loosening his tie. "Unless of course you're too tired, if I'm wearing you out with all my hormonally induced nymphomaniac demands." She thought it best to distract him, she didn't want him to start feeling guilty again about her time on her own in London.

"I never shirk my medical duties, Louisa, surely you know that by now," Martin responded as he pulled her closer and kissed her. He was now more determined than ever to make sure that Louisa was properly looked after and didn't have any worries this time round - which meant that he felt very torn about updating her with the latest news that he'd received about Terry Glasson.


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Honour Among Thieves - Chapter 24**

"I need to talk to you about something Louisa," Martin told her one evening. He'd been going over and over things in his mind trying to decide the best way to go about things. In the end, he'd done what he always did at times like this– he'd asked Joan for her advice.

"Do I just keep all this to myself, to save her the worry and heartache? But then if she finds out that I knew and didn't tell her, how will she react?" he'd asked Joan. Martin felt torn between protecting Louisa, and his gut feeling that honesty was the best policy. Secrets had a nasty habit of revealing themselves at the worst possible moment, and then biting you on the backside in his experience.

"You have to tell her Marty. Believe me, I've learnt the hard way over the years that secrets can fester and poison a relationship. Just try and be as sensitive as you can about it hmm?" were Joan's words of wisdom.

So here he was, sitting with Louisa in the kitchen. Luke was asleep upstairs, and as Martin wasn't on call, he'd switched his mobile off to ensure they weren't disturbed.

"What Martin, what is it?" Louisa was a bit worried by how serious Martin looked. Well his face was nearly always serious, but this was different, he was tense and she could tell he was worried about something.

"I've got something to tell you, and I don't want you to worry," he said as he took her hands in his.

"Oh God, Martin you're scaring me, are you ill or something?" All sorts of terrible scenarios were now running through Louisa's mind.

"No, no nothing like that," Martin quickly reassured her, thinking to himself _'I'm__not__making__a__very__good__job__of__this,__I'm__just__scaring__her__ – __maybe__it's__best__just__to__come__out__with__it'_

"It's about your father actually. I have some news about him – it's good news and bad news I'm afraid," Martin started to explain.

"Dad? What news? What do you mean?" Louisa couldn't begin to think why Martin would have any news about her Dad unless...

"Is _he_ ill then, and they let you know because you're a doctor?" she tried to fathom out.

"No Louisa, just let me explain from the beginning, I think that's best. When you received the letter from your father informing you that he was back in jail allegedly because he'd been set up, my first inclination was relief if I'm honest, relief that he was back behind bars and out of the way. However, on reflection I concluded that there was just a small possibility that he could be telling the truth. No doubt he has mixed with all sorts of unsavoury characters during the course of his criminal career, and it struck me as entirely feasible that some other crook could have an old score to settle with him. Therefore I instructed my legal firm to look into representing him, and if he was innocent of the charge, do everything in their power to clear him to enable him to be released again. There is usually some way a good lawyer can find some technicality, some mistake in the paperwork, to enable the charges to be dropped, that's how all the rich and famous get let off the hook."

Martin paused to gauge Louisa's reaction so far. She was just listening to him trying to take in what he was telling her, so he continued.

"Anyway, what has transpired is that your father is indeed innocent, he _was_ set up. Apparently when he planned the robbery that he was jailed for, he was stepping on someone else's patch, someone else was planning to rob the same warehouse. So now, to show him who the boss is, they've stitched him up to teach him a lesson, show him who is more powerful," Martin explained.

"But if he's innocent, your lawyers can get him off then, can't they?" Louisa said hopefully. Martin hated to see the hope in her eyes, knowing that he was going to dash those hopes now.

"Well here's the thing, Louisa. Terry doesn't want them to get him off, he's pleading guilty to the charges and has refused to let my lawyers help him," Martin told her.

"Why? Why on earth would he do that, he was thrilled to be out on parole when I saw him, he hates being inside," Louisa struggled to understand.

"Apparently he knows exactly who has set him up and why. How it works is that if he accepts what they have done to him, it will mean that the score is settled, the slate is clean. However, if he contests the charges and they are dropped meaning that he goes free again, the gang concerned will find other ways to get even. He believes that other ways of getting to him could mean harming his family. Hurting you. So he's decided that he will just finish his prison term and know that the score is settled." Martin waited to see if the words had sunk in.

"So dad's doing it to protect me, he's going back inside to protect me?" Louisa looked at Martin for confirmation.

"That's how it seems, yes. He has declined all offers of help, so will continue his prison sentence." Martin had been surprised by Terry. He'd assumed that he would jump at the chance of having the charges against him dropped, but he had been adamant, he wasn't going to take any chances of them hurting his daughter. Martin had to begrudgingly admire the man, he was just as protective of Louisa in his own way as Martin was.

Terry had been very surprised when he'd found out who had instructed the fancy lawyer on his behalf. He would have assumed that Martin would be happy to see him rot in jail for the foreseeable future rather than contaminate his pristine life. He must be doing it for Louisa's sake, he must really care about her, Terry came to the conclusion.

"Louisa, I didn't tell you about all of this straight away until I'd found out a bit more, I didn't want to raise your hopes if it turned out that in fact your father was guilty as charged. I hope you understand my reasoning, I don't ever want to see you as upset as you were when you got Terry's last letter," Martin told her emotionally as he squeezed her hand.

"Right, no, I suppose not..." Louisa didn't quite know what to think. "So what made you try to help dad, I know you can't stand him, you think he's a low life, a liar, and a criminal. I think that was how you described him wasn't it?"

"Well, I can't stand most of the villagers, but I always try to do what's right, and to do my best for them. Terry is your father and Luke's grandfather whether I like it or not, and I thought it only right to establish his possible innocence on this occasion if it was within my power," Martin said.

"Why do you always make out that you hate everyone, and that you don't care, when actually underneath you are a very caring person?" Louisa asked him. She was still trying to take in the fact that Martin had been trying to help her father, and that her father was trying to protect her.

"I care about _you_Louisa. Here you are, pregnant with our baby, having all this worry. Part of me didn't want to tell you about all this, to protect you. Ignorance is bliss as they say, but I didn't want to keep any secrets from you. I don't want us to have _any_ secrets from each other," Martin told her.

"No, I don't either. I'm very sad about dad being back inside, but I guess it's his choice. He has mixed with some bad lots over the years, so I guess his past has come back to haunt him. But I'm proud of you for trying to help him, it can't have been easy for you to admit to having such an awful relation to your legal people, it must have been very embarrassing for you." Louisa had had many years of being embarrassed by her father.

"Sod what they think. Anyway, at least this time Terry was telling the truth about being set up, you can at least console yourself with that," Martin said.

"For all the good it's doing him, yes I suppose he was telling the truth for once. I'll just have to see what happens when he finally does get released from prison, whenever that's going to be now," Louisa said with a big sigh.

"_We'll_ have to see you mean. Maybe we'll be able to give him some assistance if he really does try to go straight. From a distance that is, I have no desire to see him set up here in the village I'm afraid," Martin told her honestly. The man was staying in prison for Louisa's sake, so Martin felt he owed him some sort of help on his eventual release.

"No, he's more at home in London anyway, he was always a fish out of water in the village, and people here have very long memories," Louisa agreed.

"Maybe you can write back to him again, reassure him that you are Ok and then tell him about our new baby coming," Martin suggested.

"You really are trying aren't you Martin?" Louisa said as she put her hand up to his cheek gently.

"Trying – as in trying your patience?" Martin asked, thinking she didn't like how he had handled the affair.

"No silly! I mean that you are trying to be kind and caring, which I know doesn't come easily to you. I think you're showing me that there are lots of different types of caring and loving," Louisa explained.

"In what way?" Martin wasn't sure what she was getting at, but thought it sounded as if she was pleased with him.

"Well, I know that we have been enjoying a lot of the physical side of love lately, and nice as that is, what's more important in the long run is the thoughtful and selfless kind of love that you've just shown me by trying to help my dad. I know you can't really have wanted to do it, but you did it for me. And it makes me love you even more than before Martin. You really are an extraordinary man." Louisa put her arms around his neck and hugged him.

"Oh. Right. I see." Martin felt pleased that he seemed to have done the right thing as far as Louisa was concerned. He hugged her back gratefully. Best not to say anything more, chances are he'd only put his foot in it and spoil things, he decided.


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Least Said, Soonest Mended - Chapter 25**

"It's just a routine monthly check Martin, you can come if you want to, but it just seems a bit of a waste of time. They'll only be doing the same checks that you've insisted on carrying out yourself after all. It's not fair on all your patients if you keep taking off time when it's not really necessary. I won't be having a scan this time, the next one is at 20 weeks as you know, that's the important one for you to come to." Louisa was trying to gently persuade Martin that it was fine for her to go to her next antenatal check at the hospital on her own.

"I said I wanted to be involved Louisa, and I meant it," Martin replied.

"Yes, I know, and you are involved far more than most prospective fathers. You can listen to the baby's heartbeat pretty much any time you want after all," Louisa reminded him.

"Hmm. I do have a pretty heavy schedule I must admit, with my surgery clinic as well," Martin conceded.

"Well then, it makes more sense for you to take the time off for the more important check up at 20 weeks, OK?" Louisa told him. She wanted to speak to her consultant Mr Stewart without Martin there, so was quite relieved to get him to agree not to come this time. She also thought that she could do some shopping in Truro after her appointment, it wouldn't be worth rushing back to school for the end of the afternoon. Martin and clothes shopping would not be a good combination, of that she was certain.

**xXx**

"All seems perfectly normal with your pregnancy for 16 weeks Louisa, do you have any questions that you'd like to ask at all?" Mr Stewart said after completing all the usual checks.

"Well, there is just one thing I thought I'd ask you about actually," Louisa told him.

"Right, well fire away," Charles Stewart told her.

"It's just that, well, how can I put this...I've become... that is I'm more _needy_…with my husband." Louisa felt rather embarrassed now that she had brought the subject up.

"Do you mean that your libido has increased?" Charles offered helpfully.

"Yes, actually. I've joked to Martin that I've become a bit of a nymphomaniac, but I'm just wondering if it's normal or if I'm a bit.. well extreme, and also how long it's likely to go on for," Louisa explained. Martin had of course explained all about the hormones and their effects on her, but he wasn't an expert on pregnancy in the way that Mr Stewart was.

"Let me reassure you that you are perfectly normal, Louisa. It varies from one extreme to the other, some women have no sexual desire at all when pregnant, other women like yourself have increased desire, for a while anyway. As to how long it goes on for, most women find that as they increase in size, their libido decreases - I'm sure you remember only too well how you felt in the last stages of your previous pregnancy. Don't worry about it, just make the most of this time together," Mr. Stewart advised her.

**xXx**

"Where the hell have you been?" Martin demanded as Louisa walked in to the house loaded up with shopping bags. His face was thunder like in the extreme.

"You know where I've been, at the hospital in Truro having my check up," Louisa told him.

"That was hours ago, you had a 1.30 appointment, it's nearly 6.30 now," Martin said.

"Well, I told you I wanted to go into Truro to the shops afterwards seeing as I was over there. I needed to be fitted for some new bras, I'm bursting out of my ones now, and my bump has expanded so much recently that I desperately needed to get some more maternity clothes too. And Luke needs some winter clothes, so I had lots to do. As I told you this morning, Joan was more than happy to pick up Luke from nursery and bring him here until you got home, so I knew I didn't have to rush back," Louisa explained tetchily.

"You could have let me know how your appointment went before you went off buying up the entire stock from the shops," Martin said, looking at all the bags she'd brought in.

"There was nothing to report, everything is fine as you know from all your own checks, it was just routine," Louisa pointed out.

"Even so, it would have been nice to have it confirmed, I didn't know if they might find something I'd missed," Martin persisted.

"Oh come on Martin, as if you'd miss anything. Anyhow, if you were that worried you could have called my mobile," Louisa replied.

"I did. Several times. It's switched off," Martin told her.

"Oh...right. I had to turn it off in the hospital, and I suppose I forgot to turn it on again afterwards. Sorry," Louisa admitted. It wasn't the only thing she'd forgotten today. When she'd gone back to the multi storey car park in the centre of Truro, she couldn't remember where she'd left her car, and it had taken her ages to find it. And then she'd got caught up in all the rush hour traffic, made worse by road works too.

"Hmm. Well, Joan is bathing Luke now, so sit down and have your supper. You must be tired after all that shopping, I really don't know how you could spend so long doing it," Martin said.

"Oh I'm not hungry, I had something out, and I've got my committee meeting in half an hour, I've just got time to see Luke before he goes to bed," Louisa told him.

"What meeting? Louisa you need to sit down and eat, and then rest instead of rushing off out to some stupid time wasting meeting, you're overdoing things again," Martin lectured her.

"I told you about this PTA committee meeting and it's on the calendar if you'd bothered to look. As Head Teacher it's important that I turn up and show my support, it's very hard getting parents to volunteer for these things. So just stop fussing, I'm fine, my check up was all normal. It's part of my job to go to these meetings, just as you have to go out for your job," Louisa insisted.

Martin was never very keen on Louisa spending evenings out on school business, he felt that the parent's evenings and numerous committee meetings encroached on far too many of their evenings.

"At least when I'm called out it's potentially to save a life, not to discuss which village idiot is running which stall at some stupid fete," Martin told her.

Louisa looked at him in disbelief.

"Here was me thinking that you're a new thoughful man, but you really haven't changed have you, you're still the same - arrogant, and old fashioned. You keep treating me as if I'm ill or something – I'm pregnant, that's all, it's a perfectly normal condition. So you can sod off Martin. I'm going up to see Luke, and then I'm going out," Louisa told him angrily. She was actually very tired and bad tempered and Martin's attitude was bringing out the worst in her.

A few minutes later the front door slammed and Martin heard her car drive off. Well at least she wasn't walking up to the school. But when he checked on the calendar, he realised that the meeting was at that tosser Paul Blake's house, he was a parent governor. He groaned to himself, no doubt he would be charm itself to Louisa, making him seem a complete ogre in contrast.

"Is it safe to come in now?" Joan asked, putting her head round the kitchen door. She couldn't help but overhear their heated conversation as she'd been completing Luke's bedtime routine, not saying anything to Louisa when she had come in to give Luke a cuddle and kiss goodnight before rushing out again.

"Why does she have to be so bloody difficult and stubborn?" Martin said in frustration.

"Why do you have to be so bloody rude and condescending, Marty?" Joan shot back at him. "What did you expect her to say when you belittled her job like that?"

"I didn't belittle it, I was merely stating a fact," Martin replied defensively.

"Really, I don't think that was how Louisa saw it, do you?" Joan pointed out.

She knew that Martin had reacted as he had because he'd been worried about Louisa, especially when he hadn't been able to get hold of her after her check up. But of course he hadn't told her that, instead he'd acted like a father telling off a naughty teenager, and that was pretty much how Louisa had reacted by going out and slamming the door.

"Well, I'm off home now, Luke is settled in his cot, you might want to look in on him to check he's gone off to sleep in a little while. You'd better hope Louisa's calmed down by the time she gets back hmm?" Joan said as she left.

Martin now had several hours by himself to reflect on their argument. He thought it was unfair that he always got labelled as the thoughtless one, when actually Louisa had been thoughtless in not phoning him after her check up, in his opinion. The fact that he had spoken to Charles Stewart and been given a personal update was beside the point, she didn't know that. Maybe he had overreacted when she'd finally turned up, but he really had started to get very worried about where she'd got to when it was past 6 o'clock, and it was this horrid panicky feeling that made him act the way he had.

Louisa arrived at her committee meeting feeling all hot, bothered and out of sorts. She did feel bad for not having switched her phone back on, she'd simply forgotten about it, she'd been concentrating on getting all her shopping done that afternoon. Ordering over the internet was fine for some things, but she needed properly measuring and fitting for her bras. And then she'd been in a bit of a panic when she couldn't find her car in the car park, which was a really stupid thing to do, her brain must be turning to mush. She'd wandered round for ages carrying all her shopping bags before she'd found it. But how dare Martin basically tell her that his job was so much more important than hers – although sitting listening to the parents on the committee arguing about what colour the banners should be to advertise the next Christmas Fayre, she had to concede that maybe he had a point.

**xXx**

Martin checked on Luke, he'd gone off to sleep with no problems. He stood leaning over the side of the cot watching him for quite a while, brushing his finger across Luke's soft cheek. He was so beautiful, so perfect. He was such a lucky little boy to have a mummy like Louisa, to be surrounded by so much love, unlike his own lonely childhood. Martin sighed, he'd gone and done it again, upset Louisa when all he was trying to do was look after her, and protect her. It was so hard sometimes, so complicated, life used to be so much simpler when he was on his own. But he wouldn't wish to go back to that life, never in a million years. So he had to try to sort this silly quarrel out somehow, if he could only find the right words, or else he was only going to make matters worse.

He went back downstairs to his study, and started some research for his next surgery session. Getting engrossed in medical matters usually took his mind off everything else, and for a while it worked. Then he heard a car pull up on the drive, and so he looked out of the window. He didn't like what he saw. Paul Blake was dropping Louisa off. Where was her car and what was the hell was going on?

Martin opened the front door and went out to them.

"Ah Doctor Ellingham, I drove Louisa back because..." Paul started to explain.

"It's alright Paul, I'll explain everything to Martin, thanks very much for driving me, you really didn't need to, I'll pick up my car tomorrow," Louisa interrupted him.

"Right, well, if you're sure you're OK then Louisa?" Paul said to her.

"Yes, thanks, see you tomorrow at football club," Louisa told him as she now walked into the house with Martin following her.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on Louisa?" Martin tried to keep his voice calm.

"Don't start Martin." Louisa knew that he was very close to really kicking off.

"Then tell me why Paul bloody Blake felt it necessary to drive you back," Martin demanded to know.

"Alright, alright. I came over a bit faint, that's all, nothing major, but Paul didn't think I should drive myself back, so he insisted on dropping me home," Louisa told him. Actually she'd forbidden Paul from ringing Martin as he'd wanted to, pointing out that Martin was looking after Luke and couldn't just leave him to come over. Paul had only agreed not to phone Martin on condition that he drove her home. She'd hoped that she could sneak in without Martin noticing that Paul had driven her, that he would be too engrossed in reading some medical research to notice. Mind you, she hadn't come up with an explanation of why she had left her car yet, but now Martin had seen Paul drop her off it didn't matter.

"What do you mean 'a bit faint'? Come on I'm going to check you over, upstairs in the bedroom, now," Martin ordered her.

For once Louisa didn't argue. Her stubbornness had made her tell Martin she'd eaten when she hadn't, and she'd paid the price this evening by coming over faint and dizzy after rushing about all day and not eating properly, just as Martin had warned her.

"Hmm well you seem OK, have you actually eaten anything this evening – your faints are usually brought on by low blood sugar. As I've told you numerous times before, you need to eat regularly," Martin asked her after checking her over and finding nothing serious wrong.

"Yes, Paul made me an omelette, he's quite a good cook actually," Louisa told him.

"Oh is he? You let him cook you something, but you wouldn't have supper with me before you went out," Martin said to her, obviously peeved. He couldn't help himself, an irrational feeling of jealousy swept over him. Good looking, charming, sporty types like Paul Blake always made him feel insecure.

"It wasn't like that and you know it Martin. You just wound me up, treating me like a naughty school girl, telling me off for being late in," Louisa told him.

"Well that's pretty much how you acted actually, not letting me know you were OK, and storming off when I dared to ask you anything," Martin replied.

"Look I'm really tired now, so let's not argue any more. I admit that maybe I overdid things today, it's just how the day worked out. I've been feeling so well and full of energy recently that I thought I would be alright," Louisa admitted.

"You weren't working during half term week and it's given you a false impression of what you could undertake. Your body is having to cope with the increasing demands of the growing foetus after all. That's simply a medical fact, Louisa," Martin pointed out.

"OK Martin, lecture over, I'm going to bed now" Louisa told him wearily as she gave a big yawn.

"That's the first sensible thing you've said this evening," Martin replied.

As they lay in bed that night, Louisa reached out for Martin's hand and squeezed it in an unspoken 'sorry'. He squeezed it back in return, glad to make peace, glad not to have to try to say the right thing, because he knew that with his track record, it would probably be the wrong thing.


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of****Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Happy Returns- Chapter 26**

Martin was woken early one morning in bed by Louisa whispering his name.

"Martin! Martin," she whispered loudly in his ear, taking his hand at the same time.

"What! What's the matter?" he replied, as he woke up startled.

"Nothing...nothing's wrong. Can you feel this?" Louisa asked him, placing his hand on her belly.

For a while now she had been able to feel the baby move, just very small fluttery movements, too gentle for Martin to be able to feel. But this morning there were definite kicks that could be felt, and she desperately wanted Martin to feel them before the baby stopped.

"Oh...yes...yes I can," replied Martin. He could now feel their baby kicking. It was such a strange sensation, this new life that they had created together making its presence felt.

"Weird, isn't it?" Louisa said to him, thrilled that he could share the sensation with her now.

"Yes, I suppose it is. It doesn't hurt does it?" Martin was trying to imagine what it must be like for her.

"No, these are just gentle little kicks, it's just letting us know it's there. Pretty amazing though, isn't it?" Louisa said as she hugged Martin and kissed his cheek.

"It's umm...completely...err...normal for this stage of pregnancy," Martin told her gruffly, to cover up how emotional it was making him feel. But he returned her kiss and hugged her, burying his face in her neck, so happy to be with her at this special moment.

**xXx**

It was 28th November, Martin's birthday, and luckily it fell at the weekend. He didn't want a big fuss made, as far as he was concerned it was just another day. They'd agreed to have Chris and Jenny round for a meal on the Saturday evening, and then have Sunday lunch at Joan's on his actual birthday.

Louisa was happy with this. After all, at least Martin now had _some_ social life, he happily bought tickets for the hospital Charity Ball twice a year without any prompting from her, and he also happily spent the evening with Chris and Jenny Parsons either at their house or at home. Louisa accepted that for Martin, these were quite significant changes. She was trying hard not to try to change him too much. That was one of the main reasons for the non wedding after all, the fact that she thought she could change him, she'd realised just in time that this was never a good reason to marry someone. No, she had to accept him for who he was, and if, in time, he felt able to relax and allow other aspects of his character to reveal themselves, all to the good.

And he had. He had shown himself to be a very loving and caring father to Luke, much to many people's surprise. He was also being almost unbearably protective towards her in her pregnancy, having appeared cold and disinterested last time –she understood now that had been a front to cover up his true feelings – classic Martin behaviour. She had mostly resisted the urge to try to force him to change the way he dressed – he was gradually accepting some small changes to his wardrobe after all. But any change had to be at a pace that he felt comfortable with, he had to know that she loved him as he was, for who he was – she knew now that underneath his very hard appearing outer shell, he was actually quite insecure and lacking in self confidence. His professional medical role that he felt most comfortable with gave him the perfect shield to hide behind – he still used it with her sometimes, even now.

She believed that he did know how much she loved him, despite their rows and their ups and downs. That was why he had understood her silent apology by way of her reaching out for his hand after their last row – sometimes words just got in the way. These rows were inevitable given that they were both strong personalities who had been used to doing things their own way for many years – they were bound to drive each other nuts from time to time, it was part of the spark between them. Anyway it would be boring if they always agreed and saw eye to eye on everything. Making up was usually good fun anyway.

**xXx**

Martin and Louisa both enjoyed cooking, so they had planned out the meal they were cooking for Chris and Jenny together, and were now in the kitchen preparing it together companionably, trying to get a lot of the preparation done while Luke was having a nap. Louisa felt Martin come up behind her and place his hand on her tummy as he kissed her neck. She moved his hand over a little bit.

"It's kicking on this side at the moment," she told him. He may not have said very much about his emotions when he'd felt their baby move, but now he often came up in this way when they were on their own to feel the baby kicking if he could. Louisa was very happy to let him feel the baby move at any time. But when they were in company, he didn't show this side of his personality – that was his way, and she supposed that she was lucky that she at least got to see the other side of him.

Once Luke was awake, Louisa was occupied with looking after him while Martin carried on with the meal preparations. She felt very lucky to have a partner who could cook so well. Many of her friends complained that their husbands couldn't even manage to boil an egg, which she thought was rather pathetic. That was another advantage of having been on their own for many years before they got together, they were both perfectly capable of looking after themselves, so happily shared all of the household tasks for the most part.

Of course, Luke wanted to be near his Daddy, anything to do with Martin was fascinating to Luke. They had to make sure that Martin's study door was always firmly closed when he was around, anything in there was like a magnet to him. Most things were out of his reach, but they knew he was pretty soon going to figure out how to climb up to reach new intriguing things. He was getting the hang of climbing the stairs, but they only let him try under supervision – Martin had had too many injury cases relating to falls on stairs to take any chances with his own son.

When Louisa took Luke away from Martin, who was trying to cook, he threw a tantrum, screaming and kicking and crying. Martin was horrified.

"Why on earth is he behaving that way?" he asked, perplexed. Louisa calmly lay him on the floor next to her and let him finish his tantrum. She was used to dealing with all sorts of children's behaviours over the years, so it didn't really faze her at all.

"He can't help it. He's frustrated and doesn't know how to deal with his feelings. It's no good trying to reason with him until he's calmed down, he's actually scaring himself at the moment so he just needs some quiet reassurance. Shouting at him will just make things worse. You never reward a tantrum by giving in to stop the noise just because you're embarrassed – that's what people tend to do if it happens in a shop or something, but it's the worst thing that you can do, that's how toddlers learn to throw a tantrum to get what they want. It's all quite straightforward when you analyse it logically Martin. He'll calm down in a few minutes, as long as we don't make a big deal about it." Sure enough, in a little while he calmed down. Louisa cuddled him and kissed him, wiping away his tears, and soon he was back to his normal self, paddy over.

Martin looked at Louisa with new respect. Thank God she knew how to handle toddler tantrums, he would have to read up about them and take some lessons from her – this was something most definitely outside his area of expertise.

**xXx**

They had a very pleasant meal with Chris and Jenny. They'd agreed to keep things simple and not get birthday presents, so they just gave Martin a birthday card – he was incredibly hard to buy for in any case.

As they sat chatting at the end of the meal over cheese and biscuits, the conversation turned to hobbies.

"Martin's hobby is antique clocks, restoring them and such like, but you haven't had much time of late to spend on it have you?" Louisa said to him. Privately she thought it was just as well, there were already a considerable number of clocks around the house from when he had had lots of time on his hands. Luckily he didn't keep them all going by winding them up, she thought all the ticking would keep her awake at night otherwise.

"No, too many other things to keep me occupied now," Martin agreed. He'd found restoring the clocks very therapeutic when he'd been unable to undertake any surgery because of his blood phobia. He'd only ever bought clocks made by the finest makers whose standard of workmanship in the intricate mechanisms impressed him.

"Well perhaps you could give me some advice on a clock that I inherited from my Grandmother, Martin. I'm not sure if it would be worth restoring or not," said Jenny, then described the clock to him.

"That sounds very similar to one that I have, come and take a look at it and see if it's the same sort," Martin offered, showing her to where it was in his study. Jenny was one of a very small group of people that Martin felt reasonably at ease with, he found her to be intelligent but with common sense, a rare combination in his experience, especially in a woman, so he was happy that she and Louisa were now very good friends.

After showing her the clock and establishing that it was very similar to the one that she had inherited, Martin offered to have a look at it for her.

"Are you sure you've got the time Martin, with everything on your plate at the moment?" Jenny asked him.

"Well, I'm sure I can find a spare hour or two to spend on something different for a change," Martin replied, quite looking forward to doing it.

"So, how are you feeling about Louisa's pregnancy and becoming a father again?" Jenny asked him, not usually getting the chance to speak to him on his own.

"Happy, but apprehensive, naturally. Worried about Louisa working too hard, but she just thinks that I'm being overprotective of course," Martin confided to her.

"Yes, she does work ridiculously hard, doesn't she? I've told her she should cut back, but I think she's worked so hard over the years building up her school, and done such a fantastic job of it, that she finds it hard to hand anything over to someone else, which I can understand. Even so, I think she needs to rest more," Jenny told him.

"You do? You mean that you agree with me, you're not taking her side and telling me not to fuss so much?" Martin was surprised to find that he had an ally in Jenny, he'd assumed the two women would club together against him.

"It's not a case of taking sides, Martin, we all want the same thing after all, Louisa's health and the health of the baby are what's most important. I've pointed out that being pregnant only lasts a few months out of a whole lifetime, so she should make the most of it, take the chance to rest and be pampered now– it's going to be very hard work with a toddler and a new baby, believe me I know, I've been there. Maybe you have to learn to be a bit more subtle, not confront her so much Martin, maybe you back her into a corner sometimes so she rebels," Jenny suggested.

"Well I'm afraid being subtle or manipulative is not my strong point, I just say things how I see them," Martin said.

"So I gather. Well I'll try to keep any eye on her as well and encourage her to take things a bit easier," Jenny promised.

"Thank you, I'd appreciate that," Martin said, thinking that Louisa might perhaps take more notice of her friend than him.

xXx

In the kitchen Chris was having a conversation with Louisa.

"So, how are you feeling, better now that you're past those first horrid weeks of throwing up all the time?" Chris asked her.

"Fine, I feel so much better now," Louisa replied. Chris was always very easy to talk to, he was a very good listener. She imagined that he'd been a very sympathetic doctor, so she felt that it was a shame that he was now in a high flying administrative role and not using all his medical skills. Still that was his choice, he preferred the hours that fitted around his family life.

"And Martin, taking good care of you is he?" Chris asked again.

"You could say that," Louisa replied with a raise of her eyebrows.

"Ah yes, Jenny did mention that he was being a bit over protective in your opinion," Chris said.

"Don't get me wrong, Chris, I'm thrilled that he is so committed and involved about the baby, but it seems that he is resentful about my job. I love my job, it's taken me years to get to this point, and now he seems to think I should just drop it all and sit at home with my feet up – well that's just not me I'm afraid, and he's going to have to accept that sooner or later. He's just so old fashioned in his views," Louisa told him with some feeling.

"I see. Well it's his way of..." Chris started to say.

"Oh don't tell me about him needing to look after me, showing he cares etc etc, I've had the lecture several times already, and I _am_ letting him take care of me, but I'm not prepared to give up work just like that. How would he like it if he had to let someone else run his surgery for him while he sat back and watched – he'd hate it wouldn't he?" Louisa replied.

"Yes he would, but I think he'd also point out that he isn't the one who's pregnant Louisa. It's just how he is, if he has a project of any kind, he always gives it his full 100% attention, that's what makes him such a bloody good doctor, he's so thorough and meticulous. Your pregnancy is his current project so to speak, so you are getting his full undivided attention for a lot of the time, and he worries about every little detail that he has no doubt researched. And us men do feel very guilty for what you women have to go through in order to procreate, I know I did with Jenny when she had our boys," Chris explained, knowing Martin better than most people.

"I know you're right, but if he could only back off a little, let me get on with my job, I wouldn't feel so...suffocated at times, and then that's when I get really bad tempered and horrid with him. Then I feel really guilty for being such a horrid cow," Louisa told him with a sigh.

"Would you like me to have a word with him, see if I can get him to ease back just a smidgen?" Chris offered.

"I'd appreciate that, thanks," Louisa told him happily, glad that he wasn't taking Martin's side and not lecturing her about not to working so hard.

"OK, I will, but in the meantime, just try to humour the old boy a little bit, at least pretend to rest a bit more, he really isn't such a bad chap is he?" Chris told her with a wicked smile and a wink.

"OK, for you Chris, I will try," Louisa agreed, laughing with Chris. He'd probably achieved in five minutes easy chat what Martin had been trying to achieve for weeks with Louisa – her agreement to slow down a bit. He really was a very good communicator.

**xXx**

Martin had noticed that of late there had been no phone calls telling him that he was 'needed', neither had his clothes been torn off him as soon as he stepped in through the door, so he'd assumed that Louisa's hormones had sorted themselves out and her libido had adjusted again. Also being back at work full time was exhausting for her, no matter what she said, and Luke was pretty demanding too, all these things took their toll after all. He understood and was fine with this, he was happy so long as they were still close to each other, and he felt that cuddling up to her and being able to feel their unborn baby move was about as close as any couple could get. He would simply take his guidance from her as to what she wanted. He'd had many years of celibacy, so he could cope just fine, however much harder it was for him now that he slept in the same bed as this beautiful women that sometimes he still couldn't believe was his wife.

So he was pleasantly surprised to be woken up on his birthday by Louisa making clear her intentions by kissing him, running her hands under his top and undoing his pyjamas.

"Happy birthday Martin. Just lie back, relax and enjoy," Louisa told him, thinking they should just have enough time for what she had in mind before Luke woke up.

Who was he to argue, he thought, so he simply did as he was told, thinking that there were definite advantages to having a birthday even if it did mean he was another year older. As they lay together afterwards, he felt obliged to clear something up that was bothering him.

"That was very nice, if unexpected Louisa. I'd assumed, or thought that...well you no longer...you don't have to force yourself on my account, I'm quite capable of going without sex, I'm not like those playboy footballers who can't keep it in their trousers or go without for more than a day at a time you know," Martin told her.

"Oh Martin, surely you know me well enough by now that I would never 'force' myself, and as for you being like those footballers..."she burst out laughing at the thought of it.

"Right, well as long as we're clear, I'm happy just to be close to you, with no pressure for anything more, even if certain parts of my anatomy may indicate otherwise, that's purely a hormonal response that we males are unable to completely control, so just ignore it."

"Trouble is Martin, 'it' is quite hard to ignore in your case," Louisa teased him. "I may not be such a raging nympho now, but that doesn't mean that I wish to become a nun. But I appreciate what you're saying, it's very sweet and considerate of you."

Luke must have remembered that it was his Daddy's birthday because he was thoughtful and only woke up and demanded to be picked up once Martin had received his first birthday present.

**xXx**

As the three of them sat eating their breakfast, Louisa presented Martin with two more presents.

"This one is from Luke, isn't it?" Louisa said, to Luke, getting him to nod his head with her.

"Daddy," Luke said, pointing at Martin and smiling.

"Letting him go shopping on his own then are you?" Martin asked, picking up the parcel. He unwrapped it to find a new tie.

"It's to replace your silk one that he wiped his nose on," Louisa explained. They'd be surprised that snot had caused such a bad stain, but then silk was always very difficult to clean, much better to have machine washable ones in her opinion. There was also a card from Luke saying 'To my Daddy', with lots of scribbles inside. Luke loved scribbling, they had to make sure the crayons were out of his reach unless he was supervised otherwise a lot of surfaces would be scribbled on before he got bored and chewed them up instead.

"Thank you Luke," Martin said, before turning his attention to the other present.

"You really didn't have to get anything Louisa, I thought we agreed ..." Martin started to protest.

"We will always celebrate birthdays in this house Martin, it's part of being a family to make a fuss of someone on their special day," Louisa told him.

"I see." Martin felt rather guilty that he hadn't made more of a fuss of Louisa on her birthday now, he just wasn't in the habit of it.

He opened this present to find a box containing a pair of silver cufflinks.

"I hope you like them Martin, I designed them myself. I thought maybe you could wear them to the Charity Ball next week," Louisa said, trying to see by his face if he actually liked them or not. She'd spent ages on the design. She'd had them made especially by a silversmith that had been recommended to her by Jenny. They may not be in the same league as the diamond necklace that Martin had given her, but men were very hard to buy for, especially ones like Martin, and at least he did wear cufflinks.

He stared at them. They were beautiful. They were oval in shape, and engraved on them were their initials entwined together. Each also had a tiny Forget-Me-Not flower engraved on it.

"In Victorian times, the 'Forget-Me-Not' flower symbolised 'true love', so that's what I chose to have engraved with our initials. I hope you don't think that's too soppy or sentimental," Louisa explained.

"I think... I think...they are the most thoughtful present I've ever received," Martin told her as he reached across the table to kiss her. He was actually very touched by the symbolism, these cufflinks would now be one of his most prized possessions.

Luke watched his Mummy and Daddy kissing, not paying too much attention because it was simply normal behaviour as far as he was concerned, that's what Mummy's and Daddy's did.

**xXx**

They had a lovely Sunday lunch with Joan, she cooked them a roast chicken dinner. They never liked to think too much about where the chicken came from.

Joan gave Martin his present from her– she had baked him his favourite fruit cake. She couldn't afford expensive presents, but Martin was more than happy with this, he would have just a small slice each day to keep to his healthy diet of course.

"So, have you thought about any names for this baby yet?" Joan asked them.

"No, not yet, maybe after the 20 week scan next week, if everything seems OK then we might start to think about things like that, don't you think Martin?" Louisa replied. That wasn't quite true, Louisa couldn't help running through various names in her mind, but she hadn't discussed any with Martin yet.

"Marty, have you any thoughts about names at all?" Joan asked her nephew when he didn't answer. He looked up now, having been reading his Sunday newspaper while Louisa and Joan were chatting and playing with Luke.

"Names for what?" he asked.

"Your baby!" Joan told him, exasperated.

"Oh. No, not really, I'm sure Louisa will come up with something," he replied, not really paying much attention, and turning back to his newspaper. That was how he usually spent at least part of Sunday if he could, reading his broadsheet newspaper.

"Well I thought Danny for a boy actually," Louisa said, hoping to provoke a reaction from him.

"And I thought Edith for a girl actually," Martin retorted, looking up.

"Come on Luke, I can see I'm not going to get a sensible answer out of your Mummy and Daddy, let's go shut up my chickens before it gets dark, hmmm?" Joan said, taking Luke by the hand. Honestly those two were like big kids sometimes, she thought to herself.

**xXx**

"So, have you enjoyed your birthday this year Martin?" Louisa asked him later that evening when they were finally alone. Last year on Martin's birthday they hadn't been living together for very long, so Louisa hadn't felt confident enough to make too much of his birthday then, which Martin hadn't worried about, the only person who had ever bothered to remember it in previous years was his Aunt Joan.

"Yes, it has been very pleasant, so thank you," Martin said, taking her in his arms and kissing her.

"And as for choosing a name for the baby, once we've had the OK at the scan next week, maybe we can talk about that a bit more sensibly hmm?"

"That would be a good idea I suppose," Martin agreed.

"We have lots to look forward to in the next month, the Charity Ball, our first Wedding Anniversary, and then Christmas..." Louisa said as she nestled against his chest.

"Hmm, it's that time of year again isn't it?" Martin agreed, not very enthusiastically.

"Oh bah humbug to you, you enjoyed last Christmas, didn't you?" Louisa asked as she kissed his cheek.

"If you say so." Martin still put on his scrooge act, pretending to hate Christmas, but Louisa knew that whatever he said, he _had_enjoyed their first Christmas together however grumpy he pretended to be about it, and she intended to make this one just as happy.

All they had to do was get past the 20 week scan next week with the 'all clear', then everything would be well in the Ellingham household.


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of****Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**The Bitch is Back- Chapter 27**

Louisa did a double take. Surely it couldn't be..? What on earth was _she _doing back here? But there was no mistaking that aggressive red flicked hair even from behind, and sure enough, when she turned round, there was that supercilious look, that slight smile playing around her lips, the confident manner that came from her belief that she was superior to the rest humanity. Edith.

Louisa felt herself starting to panic, hyperventilating, a cold sweat running over her, as she looked round, thinking that Edith couldn't be waiting for her, it must be someone else that she was beckoning to. She turned to Martin, and saw him smiling at Edith in recognition.

"Ellingham, you've brought the little school teacher from your village to see me, how sweet of you," Edith said as she swept up to Martin, ignoring Louisa as she placed her hand on his arm and pecked his cheek.

"Edith, good to see you," Martin replied, not able to take his eyes from her.

"Come along then, better get on with this scan, we'll need to check for inter uterine growth retardation. No doubt there'll be a mistake with dates as some people can't count it seems," Edith said, leading Martin towards the room with the scanner in, glancing behind at Louisa and indicating that she should follow.

"I'm not sure...I really don't want..." Louisa tried to get the words out, but they just stuck in her throat.

"Come on Louisa, what are you waiting for? Doctor Montgomery hasn't got all day," Martin said to her brusquely.

Louisa found herself following meekly and then getting up onto the bed, watching as Edith chatted to Martin about how the RCOG had just awarded some prestigious special status to her.

"Lift up your top then," Edith commanded impatiently, then carried on her conversation with Martin as she squirted gel on to the transducer and proceeded to scan Louisa's tummy.

"Of course, your help with my report was invaluable. We'll have to get together again for the next one I'm undertaking," Edith said to Martin.

"Yes, I'd like that, I really enjoyed the process last time," Martin smiled at Edith as he agreed.

"Oh dear. That's not what I'd have expected, not at all," Edith said, staring at the screen with a disapproving look on her face.

"What? What's the matter?" Louisa asked in a panicky voice.

"SShhh! I'm measuring, keep still will you, for goodness sake," Edith told her irritably.

"Martin, what is it, what's wrong?" Louisa asked him, grabbing his hand for reassurance.

"Don't make a fuss woman, we're just trying to assess how bad things are," Martin told her, pulling his hand away.

"Yes, this foetus is not even close, not in the least what's expected at this stage," Edith said, tutting and shaking her head.

"Really Louisa, this is all your fault," Martin told her in his coldest tone.

"I'm so sorry Martin, I don't know why this should be," Louisa said as she started to cry, heartbroken.

"Oh for God's sake, don't start with the waterworks, we'll just have to get rid of it if it's substandard," Edith told her, raising her eyebrows at Martin.

"Yes, that would be the most appropriate course of action. Let's make the necessary arrangements now, best get it done straight away," Martin agreed.

"No! What are you talking about, what's wrong, you haven't even told me what the matter is, Martin?" Louisa pleaded with him.

"Nurse, move this patient to the operating theatre will you?" Edith called out.

"No, no, no, no, please Martin, help me, no, no," Louisa screamed out.

**xXx**

Louisa sat up in bed, her heart pounding, feeling hot and sweaty. It took a little while to realise that she had been dreaming, having a nightmare. She was so relieved to discover that it wasn't true, it wasn't real, but it had certainly seemed it just now. She took several deep breaths, and put her bedside light on to help break the spell of the nightmare and dispel it.

Martin stirred when she put the light on.

"What's the matter, hmm?" he murmured sleepily, reaching over to her.

"Nothing. Nothing is the matter at all," Louisa replied, looking at him next to her in their bed. She felt an overwhelming surge of love for him as she cuddled up, revelling in his warmth and the feel of his big strong arms going round her protectively, with his hand now resting on her bump.

"Everything is fine, my Martin," Louisa sighed contently as she settled back down to sleep, having switched her lamp off again.

**xXx**

They sat together having their lunch in a little restaurant in Truro after the scan which had been in the morning. Martin didn't want to have to go to the Coach and Four on the way home from the hospital again. They'd both taken the whole day off, as Louisa wanted to do some shopping in Truro, and had somewhat reluctantly agreed to Martin accompanying her for this after the scan. She supposed she only had a few things to do, and his opinion might actually be quite handy.

Although Martin hated shopping, he wanted to go with her to make sure she didn't overdo things. Joan was on standby to collect Luke from Nursery in the afternoon and bring him back to their house if they needed her to. If Martin had his way they would be back in plenty of time to collect him, he had no intention of spending hours mooching round loads of pointless shops.

"I can't tell you how relieved I am now that we've had the all clear from the scan. Mr. Stewart is so nice, so different from...well from last time," Louisa said, not even wanting to bring _that_ woman's name up. They were looking together at the latest pictures from the scan. She hadn't been able to help herself, she'd found herself looking round at all the hospital staff, relieved that there hadn't been a certain red head there. Then she'd scolded herself for being so paranoid, why on earth would Edith be back here in Cornwall, she was settled back in her high powered job in London now. It was just her horrid dream that had unsettled her.

"Yes, he seems pretty thorough," Martin agreed. He'd watched avidly as Charles had gone through all the very detailed checks and measurements at the twenty week anomaly scan. Louisa had been adamant that she didn't want to know the sex of the baby, and had made him promise not to try and see what they were having. He'd been spellbound, hardly saying a word, just fascinated both as the father of the baby, but also as a scientist. He still hadn't said much, but Louisa had been very pleased when Martin had given her a big hug and put his hand on her bump as they had got back to his car, which was tucked away in the corner of the car park, so was quite private. She had happily kissed him back, thrilled by his show of affection.

"I didn't sleep very well last night because I felt so nervous," Louisa confessed as she ate her lunch hungrily. She hadn't told him about her nightmare, as she really didn't want to talk about Edith to him.

"I thought you were tossing and turning rather a lot," Martin said. He'd also noticed that she could hardly eat any breakfast because of nerves, so he was glad that they'd decided to book an early lunch at this restaurant. It made a nice change to have a day out together.

"And there was no query about the baby being small for dates this time," Louisa smiled at him. She still didn't really understand how they had got it so wrong last time, but felt very reassured as Charles had explained each measurement that he had taken, and confirmed that it was within the normal range.

"Yes, it's very good to know there is no issue regarding SGA," Martin agreed. How Louisa must have worried going through all that on her own last time, no wonder she'd looked so exhausted and tired in the later stages of her pregnancy. He was determined that she would not feel like that this time if he could help it in any way.

"So, twenty weeks, half way there. Now we've got the Charity Ball, and Christmas to look forward to. Of course I'm going to look all fat and bloated, you'll be embarrassed to be seen at the Ball with me this time. Hopefully I can find a dress that doesn't make me look too awful. My bump seems to be expanding at a very fast rate now," Louisa told him, patting her tummy.

"You're pregnant. It's perfectly normal to increase your girth to accommodate the baby. Of course, with it being your second pregnancy, it will be even harder for you to get your figure back afterwards, so..." Martin started to lecture her.

"Alright Martin, I know the score, no eating empty calories, keep up with some gentle exercise, make sure I do my pelvic floor exercises," Louisa told him with a glint in her eye. She didn't need any reminders.

"So, where exactly do you need to go after lunch, something to do with a dress for the Charity Ball, wasn't it?" Martin changed the subject before he risked upsetting her any more. He was slowly learning the danger signals and knew by now that the flash of her eyes meant that he was treading on dangerous territory.

"It's a maternity shop that stocks evening wear. I've spoken to them on the phone and they have several dresses that might be suitable. Fingers crossed, because I'm a bit stuck otherwise," Louisa explained. She had looked everywhere else and hadn't found anything she liked or that fitted very well.

"Right...I see," Martin said.

"I also need to get a few bits and bobs for Luke, and there's a great big Mothercare shop just round the corner from here where I should be able to get what I need for him," Louisa added.

"Ok, well we'd better get going, if you've finished eating I'll get the bill."

Although Martin wasn't keen on shopping, he thought they might as well just crack on with it, he had volunteered to come after all.

As they wandered around Mothercare, Martin looked in amazement at the huge range of baby equipment – there were prams, buggies, strollers, and pushchairs in a whole range of colours and styles. He'd thought Louisa's choice of a red pram and buggy for Luke had been quite unusual, now he realised that she'd really been quite conservative, she could have had something much more radical. Seeing all the available equipment he thought that Louisa had been really quite restrained with what she'd bought for Luke.

"Are we going to need much more equipment for the new baby do you think?" he asked her.

"Not too much, we have most things already. I think we're going to need a double buggy, but I haven't researched all the different types yet," Louisa told him.

Martin wandered over to look at the double buggies – they seemed huge and cumbersome, he couldn't imagine using one in the shops in the village, it was bad enough with a single buggy.

"Come on then, let's go to the dress shop now," Louisa told him once she'd bought what she needed for Luke. It was nice to see Martin actually showing some interest in baby equipment, maybe she could even get him involved in researching the double buggy for her. It did look odd though to see him carrying the Mothercare shopping bag which he insisted on taking from her. A black medical bag was much more his style.

In the dress shop, the assistant produced four possible evening dresses for her to try on. Sensibly, the shop provided a big comfortable armchair which Martin sat in while she went and tried the dresses on.

The first one was made from a bright floral fabric with ruffles round the neckline, and was a fitted style that hugged her bump.

"What do you think Martin?" Louisa asked him as she came out of the changing room to show him.

"Too fussy and too clingy," was his assessment.

"Hmm, I see what you mean," Louisa agreed as she looked in the mirror, and so went to try the next one on.

The next one was turquoise and fell in little pleats from under the bust, allowing plenty of room for her bump.

"This one's quite nice," Louisa said, as she twirled in front of him.

"Not too bad," Martin agreed.

The next dress was a very simply styled empire line dress in a chiffon type fabric with a low v neck, in a striking scarlet colour.

As she came out of the changing room, Louisa saw Martin stare at her, as his eyes lit up.

"That's the one, that's the dress you should buy," Martin told her decisively. He'd always liked her in red, and the colour of this dress suited her perfectly. It was a very flattering fit, falling in soft folds around her bump. It had some satin ribbon detailing around the edges of the neckline, and under the bust.

"Well, I've just got one more to try on, a black one, although I did wear black to the last ball..." Louisa considered.

"Don't bother with it, get the red one," Martin insisted.

"OK, the red one it is then," Louisa decided. She liked it, and it was very comfortable too. Knowing that Martin had very good taste she was happy to go along with his choice. Of course, when she looked at the price, it was the most expensive one, naturally.

As Louisa paid for her dress and it was wrapped up, Martin asked hopefully,

"Is that it, can we go home now?"

"Well I'm going to need a new bra to wear with this dress, 'Exclusive Elegance' where I got all my other special lingerie from is just a couple of streets away, so we might as well go there now," Louisa told him.

"I can't go into a woman's lingerie shop," Martin said, horrified. There were limits as far as he was concerned. He thought he'd done pretty well up to now, but he drew the line there.

"I don't see why not, you've never objected to viewing their wares before as I recall," Louisa teased him laughingly.

"Yes, but...that was in private...I couldn't." Martin was blushing now.

"OK...well, there's a lovely antique shop round the corner that you could have a browse round while I get sorted. It's a bit pricey, but you might find another clock to restore or something else to take your fancy," Louisa suggested, knowing that it wouldn't be a good idea to push Martin too far – he'd been pretty good about the shopping, to her surprise, but antiques were much more his thing.

"Yes, that sounds a better idea, just phone me when you're done," Martin agreed relieved. He'd restored Jenny's clock for her and had enjoyed doing it, so was happy to browse the antique shop for a possible new project.

As they met up afterwards, shopping now completed, Martin felt rather pleased with himself as he looked at the packages that he'd sneaked into the big Mothercare carrier bag that he was still carrying, so that Louisa wouldn't see them.

"_Christmas shopping done. Maybe shopping with Louisa isn't so bad after all,_" he thought to himself.

"_I'd have dithered over which dress to have for ages without his opinion. Maybe shopping with Martin isn't so bad after al_l," Louisa thought to herself.

They even got back in time to pick up Luke from Nursery.

**xXx**

Edith Montgomery sighed as she pulled into the car park at Truro hospital late one morning in December. It was a real pain having to come all this way, she really thought it was unnecessary for her having to be here in person, but the senior managers at Truro hospital had insisted that she attend the meeting to discuss the controversy caused by the results of her study concerning 'geriatric' expectant parents based on evidence gathered from her common obstetric clinics at their hospital. What was it that they didn't understand, surely a five year old could have understood her report, she'd thought to herself. Still, it had given her a chance to try out her new car, a nice sporty little number that she had treated herself to.

Her eye was caught by a very tall man walking past towards a silver Lexus car parked right over in the corner. She was surprised to find that her heart lurched when she realised that it was Ellingham. Then she realised that on the other side of him was..._that_ woman, Louisa Glasson.

She watched as they walked up to his car, and then stopped as Ellingham pulled Louisa towards him and hugged her. Then she noticed, as Louisa's coat fell open, that he put his hand on what was obviously a pregnancy bump. Louisa reached up and kissed him back before they got into the car and drove off. So she'd managed to seduce him again – well that had always worked for her, she supposed, and there couldn't be many available women in that little village. Poor Ellingham, he'd always been a sucker for a pretty woman under that tough exterior, typical public school boy, not used to dealing with feminine charms.

Edith had convinced herself that she didn't want Ellingham after he had walked out of the hotel on her, and then turned down the London job to remain in that biscuit tin village after all her efforts to help him. He was damaged goods, she'd convinced herself, and she'd tried her best with him after all. Now she analysed the feeling she had just experienced, and assessed it as jealousy, much to her surprise.

When they'd first met up after all those years, it had brought back memories of when they had been medical students together. In those days, she had encouraged him to experiment with her in the practical application of all the theoretical anatomy lessons for sex. Ever the perfect student, Martin had soon mastered the basics, and then the advanced techniques, and so could 'hit the spot' pretty much every time, making him a damn good lover. It had been such a shame that he was so old fashioned, so traditional, that sex equated to marriage in his book, so he had proposed and had expected her to turn down a fantastic opportunity in Canada to settle down with him. That had not been part of her life plan, so she had simply gone to Canada without him.

When they had met up again so many years later, Edith had fantasised about testing out his techniques again – she hadn't had good sex for quite some time, and he had seemed the perfect candidate to fulfil her needs – he'd never been able to resist her in the bedroom after all. She doubted that he would have forgotten any of his skills either.

She'd been very shocked when he'd left the hotel, clearly not wanting to spend the night and have sex with her. Her pride had kicked in, so she'd declared him riddled with phobias, a hopeless case that she gave up with. But the funny thing was, it now transpired that she really wanted what she couldn't have – Ellingham. Hence the pang of jealousy that she had experienced on seeing him with...that woman, and pregnant again too, to add insult to injury. Maybe she had been too hasty in giving up on him so quickly?

Edith sat for quite a few minutes after the Lexus had driven off, contemplating her options, before stepping out of her car and heading off for the meeting at the hospital. She had never given up on getting what she wanted before and she didn't intend to start now.


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of****Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Dreams Really do Come True ****- Chapter 28**

Louisa stared at her reflection in the mirror in their hotel room where they were staying for the Charity Ball. She stood sideways, and smoothed her top down over her bump – where had this great lump suddenly appeared from? She was very happy to be pregnant, very happy to be having another baby with Martin, but the downside was, just like last time, she was getting pretty big, pretty early on, and it was affecting her confidence, making her feel unattractive. She didn't think there would be any need to worry from now on about Martin wanting to make love to her, no way was he going to find her sexy or attractive looking like this. It hadn't escaped her notice that Martin didn't try to initiate any lovemaking with her when they arrived at their hotel room, unlike last time when he'd been unable to keep his hands off her. It was only to be expected, Martin had hardly been able to look at her when she'd been heavily pregnant before, she knew that he found fat people repulsive. She remembered how he'd spoken to Alison Lane, telling her rudely that the most effective diet was 'to keep her mouth shut' and how he'd treated her with disdain because of her large size.

Martin stared at Louisa's reflection in the mirror - he thought that she'd never looked more beautiful, she was radiant, her skin was glowing, her hair was glossy and shiny, pregnancy really suited her he thought. But he didn't want to make any demands on her, it wasn't fair of him to expect her to want to make love as they had before, much as he might want to. No, he would have to wait and take his lead from her, go with what she felt comfortable with. He could feel his desire mounting as he looked at her curvaceous womanly figure, so he quickly looked away, and started fiddling with the air conditioning controls instead, muttering and complaining about it as usual.

"I said I'd meet Jenny downstairs for a swim and Jacuzzi before I go to the salon to have my hair done, so I'd better get a move on," Louisa told Martin.

She'd noticed him turn away from her reflection having stared in horror at it.

"Well don't overdo things, gentle exercise is fine, but…" Martin reminded her.

"You were the one who said it'll be harder to get my figure back this time, I'd have thought you'd be pleased that I'm going swimming, it's the perfect exercise in pregnancy," she reminded him, as she gathered up her things and disappeared out of the door.

Left to his own devices, Martin got out the paperwork he'd brought with him to catch up on, and was just settling down with it when there was a knock at the door.

He went over to open it, assuming that it would be Louisa and said,

"Did you forget your room key…"

He was speechless when he saw that in fact it was Edith standing there.

"Ellingham. I _thought_ it was you I saw going into this room earlier, so I thought I'd just knock and say hello," Edith lied. In fact she'd spun some story to the hotel receptionist about them being colleagues and a mix up with the rooms to find out which one he was in.

"Hello. There, you can go now," Martin replied brusquely. Thank God Louisa wasn't here, he knew that she wouldn't be at all happy to see Edith of all people here in the same hotel.

"Oh don't be like that, we've been close friends for so many years, seems such a shame not to keep in touch," she said, pushing past him to enter the room and look around. She saw Louisa's red evening dress hanging up and turned her nose up – how vulgar, black was the only possible choice for an evening dress, no doubt Ellingham hated that ghastly red thing. Wait until he saw what she was going to be wearing tonight, that would show him what good taste really was, he would approve she knew, they'd always shared the same refined, classic choices for clothes.

"What do you want Edith? And what are you doing back here in Cornwall, I thought you hated it?" Martin asked, wanting her to go, but curious too.

"Oh I had a meeting I came down for, so I thought I'd spend a few days down here. Look I'm sorry we didn't part on very good terms last time, seems rather silly after all the years we've known each other, and all the ..._experiences_ we've shared. We were so good together back then, at Medical School, weren't we?" she said, as she ran her hand along the edge of the bed, and looked at him in what she believed to be an enticing manner.

Memories of the double bed in the hotel room that Edith had booked for them to share forced their way into Martin's mind, and he remembered how he hadn't been able to even contemplate spending the night with her although he'd been single and technically a free agent. All he'd been able to think about then was how wonderful making love with Louisa had been, how beautiful she'd looked in bed and how he still loved her so very much, even if it was unrequited love as he'd believed then. Now his eye was caught by the box on the bedside cabinet which contained the diamond necklace that he'd given Louisa, and it conjured up vivid memories of how they'd made love with her wearing just the necklace. He could feel himself blushing at the fantastic, erotic memories.

He was brought back from his reverie by Edith reaching out and running her fingers up his arm and then touching his cheek. He recoiled from her touch, from her invasion of his personal space. He was still basically a very shy person and he only felt comfortable with Louisa touching him like that. Edith felt his reaction and thought to herself '_it's still there, the electricity between us, he's going to jump at my proposition tonight'._

"Well, I'll leave you for now, maybe we might just 'bump' into each other again before too long hmm?" she said with a raised eyebrow. She knew that Louisa was downstairs and had a hair appointment booked, again another easy lie to the salon about booking an appointment at around the same time as her 'friend' had gained her the information she needed. She didn't want to risk spooking Ellingham by having any kind of confrontation with Louisa now. No, she'd wait till later, she knew now that he was still under her spell. She'd been too subtle with him before, she intended to cut to the chase this evening, Ellingham needed firm guidance in these matters. As she swept out of the room, she left behind a trail of her heavy cloying perfume that she believed to be irresistible, Martin coughed and choked, and tried to open the window even further than he already had to get rid of it. This one might not smell of cheese, but it was still dreadful.

He really had no idea why she'd come to see him, but he certainly had no interest in seeing her again, that he knew for certain.

He'd just sat down again to continue with his reading, trying to put the whole 'Edith' incident out of his mind, when he heard the door open as Louisa let herself in. She was smiling ruefully, telling herself off for being so paranoid. Fancy thinking she'd just seen _that_ red head turning at the end of the corridor. There were lots of other slim red headed women in the world after all.

"It's a bit tricky going for a swim without your swimsuit I've just found out. I'm getting so forgetful, but at least I had my room key, that's something I suppose," Louisa explained as she gathered up the missing item. Then she wrinkled her nose up in disgust and said,

"What's that awful smell in here, it's like a really nasty cheap toilet cleaner. I didn't notice it earlier, but it's dreadful."

Martin opened his mouth to tell her about Edith's visit. But Louisa looked so relaxed and happy, and he knew that she was really looking forward to the Ball, so for once he tactfully kept his mouth shut as he knew any mention of Edith's name would upset her and spoil her good mood. He'd tell her about it tomorrow, after the Ball, he quickly decided.

"Were you going to say something?" she looked at him curiously.

"Have a nice swim and don't overdo it," Martin reminded her, feeling rather proud of himself for finally learning to think before he opened his mouth.

**xXx**

"Can you help me to put this on please?" Louisa asked Martin, passing him her beautiful diamond necklace. She'd come back from her swim and then her trip to the hairdressers to have her hair put up, and had got changed into her red evening dress. As she looked in the mirror, she could see that it was a beautiful dress, Martin had been right to choose this one, but looking at her expanding figure she thought that about the only good thing with her appearance now was that her breasts had grown pretty big too, giving her a fantastic cleavage to show off in this low cut dress.

As he put the necklace round her neck and did it up for her, they both remembered the last Ball when she'd worn it and nothing else. As the necklace sparkled and drew his eye to her cleavage, Martin could feel himself quickly becoming aroused, and so moved away to fetch his jacket.

"You…ummm...might like to wear this as well," Martin said, as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a similar but smaller leather case to the one that had contained her necklace.

"Oh, Martin, you didn't need to do this!" Louisa said, completely surprised as she took the box from him. She opened it to find a beautiful diamond bracelet that matched her necklace.

"Well, I didn't do very well for your birthday I realise now, and it's our Wedding Anniversary shortly too, so I thought I might as well give it to you to wear tonight," Martin explained, rather embarrassed. He'd secretly measured Louisa's watch strap to get the correct size, and then he'd ordered it from the same jewellers that he'd bought the necklace from in London, and they had had it specially delivered to his surgery for him.

Louisa was speechless. She had wondered if he would remember their anniversary, as he was not one to make a fuss of birthdays or anything, so she was thrilled that he had indeed remembered. Of course he had his ever efficient spreadsheets to remind him.

"Martin, I'm going to be dripping in diamonds at this rate," she joked.

"You have a problem with that?" Martin quizzed her, raising his eyebrows.

He wanted the best for Louisa, and he was really looking forward to walking in with her this evening, looking stunning and beautiful and pregnant with his baby.

"No Martin, it's beautiful, thank you so much. My birthday was lovely, we spent it together, that's all I ever want from you. I don't need lots of expensive presents, you know that," Louisa told him, now holding out her wrist for him to do up the bracelet for her. It sparkled and glinted in the light, just as her necklace did.

"Are you saying you don't like it then?" Martin asked, unsure if she was displeased.

"No, Martin, I love it, of course I do, thank you so much for being so thoughtful," Louisa replied as she kissed him lingeringly on the lips, finding him so attractive in his evening dress suit. Although he wasn't a classically handsome type of man, he was always so well groomed, and tall, and manly with his craggy looks that she melted when she looked at him.

"Come on then, we'd better go down now. Do you want to knock for Chris and Jenny?" Martin suggested as he cleared his throat and pulled away from her while he could still do so.

"Sounds like a plan," Louisa agreed, noting his reaction with some disappointment. It was a few minutes earlier than had been agreed, but she didn't think that would matter.

They went along to Chris and Jenny's room and knocked on the door. There was no answer, so they knocked again. Finally there was a shouted reply from within.

"You're a bit early, umm… maybe we should meet you downstairs, we're…err… running a bit late," Chris called out, sounding rather distracted.

"Right, yes, of course, no problem," Martin called back, clearing his throat and ushering Louisa towards the lift. Clearly Chris and Jenny had been following their own agenda, and Martin had no wish to intrude.

**xXx**

Martin put Louisa's arm through his and walked into the ballroom with her. He felt such a lucky man to have Louisa by his side, as his wife, expecting his baby, and he knew that heads were turning to look at them. In the past he would have hated drawing any attention to himself, but now he didn't feel shy, just proud.

Louisa looked up at Martin. He looked so attractive in his dinner jacket and bow tie, and she felt so proud that he was her husband as she took his arm. She just hoped that he wasn't too embarrassed to be with her now with her obvious pregnancy.

After having their picture taken – another one to add to the growing collection in his surgery, some of which he'd had to move over to his mantle piece – they went over to the bar to get a drink.

A bit later, after they'd circulated for a while and chatted to various acquaintances, Louisa looked up to see Chris and Jenny entering the ballroom, and beckoned them to come over.

"Running a bit late were you?" Louisa asked her friend with a knowing look.

"I blame you actually Louisa, it's all your fault," Jenny told her with a smile.

"How come?" Louisa asked, puzzled.

"Well ever since Martin told Chris about how you 'persuaded' him to have Luke's Christening party, he's been dropping none too subtle hints about how I never try to 'persuade' him any more. As I pointed out to him, it's not easy with our two growing boys in the house after all. But with my mother staying over to mind the boys at home while we're here for the night, it was the perfect opportunity to refresh my skills," Jenny explained to Louisa with a wicked smile on her face.

Chris had been very appreciative of her beautiful lingerie - having been married for quite a few years, it was easy to get out of the habit of making an effort for each other.

Chris spoke quietly to Martin.

"Sorry about earlier, you know... when you knocked for us," Chris said.

"No, no, I'm sorry if we... umm interrupted anything," Martin replied.

"Well, as a matter of fact..." Chris said, raising his eyebrows and winking.

"Ah right. Was it, you know...?" Martin couldn't help asking his friend. Chris had been very helpful to him with some of his intimate relationship queries concerning Louisa, so now Martin felt able to ask such a question.

"Yes...Stockings...the works," Chris whispered back, with a happy, contented look on his face. Jenny had finally taken the hint after he'd told her how Louisa had persuaded Martin.

"I see. Glad it worked out for you," Martin told him.

**xXx**

It hadn't been difficult for Edith to get an update about Ellingham after her meeting at the hospital. People did love to gossip, so it was a pretty easy task for her to manipulate people round to the topic of conversation that she wanted. The meeting had been a complete waste of her time, as she had expected. So what if some people didn't agree with her findings, she had her evidence, if they couldn't follow her interpretation of the data that was their problem, not hers – idiots the lot of them.

She quickly established that Ellingham, the poor deluded fool, had actually gone and married his little schoolteacher, she had to give Louisa some credit for pulling that out of the bag, she supposed. What on earth they had in common she couldn't imagine, she must spend her days wiping snotty noses for all the disgusting little village brats. Edith didn't have a single maternal bone in her body, she was very similar in some ways to Martin's mother – a cold hearted bitch. That was why it had been such a shock to her to actually feel her heart lurch when she'd seen Ellingham, and why she had had to analysis the feeling to work out what it could be.

However, on further analysis she decided that the feeling of jealousy was more to do with the fact that clearly Louisa had managed to bed Ellingham, and she hadn't. Edith had always been competitive in the extreme. She didn't actually want a man in her life to clutter things up for her – her clinically sterile and organised life in London was perfect as far as she was concerned. No, what she wanted, what she needed to dispel these pangs of jealousy, was to get Ellingham into bed, to have sex with him. Miss Spikey was obviously pregnant, and with that big lump Ellingham couldn't possibly want to have sex with her so what better time to seduce him? What man could resist her offer of great uncomplicated sex with no strings attached?

Edith was very proud of the fact that she had never put any weight on over the years. If anything she had lost a little, making her even thinner than in her student days, and she knew how Ellingham hated overweight people, he thought it showed a lack of self discipline and weakness of character. She never thought of sexual intercourse as 'making love', it was always 'sex' to her, a bodily function. She had no compunction with regards to Louisa or their child, they were nothing to do with her in any way whatsoever, and didn't enter into the equation at all.

She'd seen the signs around the hospital advertising the hospital's Charity Ball, and by the price of the tickets it was obviously aimed at the higher ranking medical staff. Luckily Ellingham was pretty well known in hospital circles, so when she'd been subtly questioning some of the hospital managers after her meeting, having used the fact that Ellingham helped with her report to bring his name into the conversation, she found out to her surprise that he usually attended these Balls now. It also transpired that he had definitely got over his blood phobia because he was performing surgery again– albeit in his little practice at the surgery. Well, she could take the credit for that, it'd certainly been all down to her efforts with him, so he owed her for that.

By pretending to be desperate to support the charity that the Ball was fundraising for, she'd managed to procure a ticket for herself. The consultant's secretary who was in charge of the tickets had been a font of knowledge, explaining to her how most people stayed over at the hotel for the night, how they got there in the early afternoon, how most of the wives went for a swim and Jacuzzi before having their hair done etc etc, helpfully giving her the number of the Hotel's hair salon to see if they had any appointments left. Edith had managed to book a room at the hotel where the function was. Of course it would mean another trip to Cornwall, but she was due some leave, the admin people had been on at her several times to take it before the end of the year or she would lose it, so it was easily arranged.

This was going to be fun, she thought to herself, she always enjoyed a challenge. She just regretted that she had given up so easily on Ellingham before, she'd never really got him on his own long enough to employ any of her tried and tested seduction techniques after all. This time, she didn't intend to give up until she'd achieved her goal.

**xXx**

After they had had their meal, Martin and Louisa both wandered round and chatted to various acquaintances. Martin was now engrossed listening to one of the Dermatology Consultants explaining a new procedure that he'd been trying out for removing skin melanomas. He found it fascinating, it was a technique that he had been considering using in his surgery clinic. Louisa had disappeared off somewhere with Jenny a little while ago, so when he felt a gentle touch on his arm, he turned round smiling, thinking that Louisa had returned, and that she was probably going to scold him for talking shop so much.

The smile froze on his face as he saw that it was in fact Edith. She ran her hand along his jacket, and then slipped something into his pocket.

"For later. Make some excuse, say a patient needs you or something. I'm all yours, whatever you want," Edith whispered into his ear as she reached up to peck his cheek. She was wearing a skin tight black dress which had a very tight, fitted pencil skirt that showed off her very slight frame. She was wearing ridiculously high, impractical stiletto heels with very sharp pointed toes. There were no curves, nothing feminine about her all, Martin noticed in his glance. Not like Louisa, who was so soft, so curvy, and so _womanly_ in her pregnant condition.

At that moment he glanced up to see Louisa on the far side of the room, looking over at him. She looked stunned and horrified to see Edith hanging on to him, kissing him and him smiling down at her. In an instant he saw her face crumple and look as if someone had slapped her, and then he saw her stumble and catch hold of a chair as if she might faint.

Martin threw off Edith's arm and impatiently pushed her away, as he moved to work his way through the crowds of people to reach Louisa. He lost sight of her, and by the time he got to the other side of the room, she'd disappeared. He looked round, trying to see where she'd gone.

"Where's Louisa, where did she go?" he demanded to know from Jenny, who had just come up to him.

"I don't know, she was ahead of me, what on earth's the matter, Martin?" Jenny asked puzzled.

"I...umm… think she might be feeling faint," Martin quickly explained, his eyes desperately scouring the room to find her.

"Maybe she went outside for a breath of fresh air?" Jenny suggested, pointing at the patio doors that were slightly ajar, and heading that way. "Yes, there she is, look."

Jenny pointed to a figure in a red dress out on the patio, leaning against a low brick wall for support. As they both made their way out to her, it became apparent that Louisa was very upset. By the look on Martin's face, Jenny guessed that it was something that had happened between them.

Jenny quickly decided that they needed some privacy, whatever had gone on. She left Martin to deal with things, and then went to find Chris – perhaps he knew what had on earth had happened between the two of them.

**xXx**

"Are you having an affair with Edith?" Louisa confronted Martin, her bottom lip quivering and her eyes brimming with tears.

"No...no! Absolutely not, you can't seriously think that I would ever..." Martin replied, horrified that Louisa could even think this. He couldn't bear to see the hurt in her eyes as she looked at him accusingly.

"But she was in our hotel room earlier, wasn't she?" Louisa stated. It made sense now, it _had_been Edith she'd caught a glimpse of earlier on in the corridor, and it was _her_disgusting perfume that had been hanging in the air in their room. She felt physically sick thinking of Martin... in bed...with her.

"Well…yes she was but..." Martin replied, not wanting to lie but knowing this looked really bad. "Look, it's freezing out here, come inside so that we can talk properly, it isn't what you think at all, surely you know me well enough by now to know that I would never...could never..." Martin took his jacket off and put it round Louisa, her teeth were chattering from the cold. It was a freezing December night, a frost was already forming, and their breath was making steam in the air as they spoke.

"I _thought_I knew you Martin, I really did, but maybe you _are_ just like other men, maybe that's why you haven't been interested in me lately, because you've got her instead. I'm all fat and ugly, and she's so slim and elegant, not exactly a hard choice, is it?" Louisa suddenly felt that familiar feeling of distrust, of being let down, of being made a fool of, that she had experienced with every other man she'd ever known. She'd thought that Martin was her rock, but maybe he wasn't so different to other men after all.

"That's ridiculous, you've never looked more beautiful or desirable than you do now. Why on God's earth would I want to be with that stick insect, she's not a real woman at all. She disgusts me if you want the truth of the matter," Martin told her. "Please, come inside Louisa."

"I can't. I can't go in if _she's_ in there. I just can't," Louisa replied vehemently, tears rolling down her cheeks. The unborn child she was carrying started kicking hard, as if it too was protesting, causing her to take a sharp intake of breath and rub her bump to try to calm it down.

"Then we'll go round to the other entrance, but please, come in, you'll get hypothermia at this rate," Martin insisted, desperate to get her inside into the warmth and then to sort out this horrendous mess and get her to understand.

Louisa let herself be led, she hadn't noticed the cold, she was just so shocked by what she'd seen. Her nightmare had come true in front of her very eyes, Edith possessively draping herself over Martin, and him looking at her adoringly.

**xXx**

As Jenny made her way back to find her husband, she noticed that there seemed to be some sort of altercation going on over on the far side of the room. She also spotted Chris over there, so made her way over to him. A very thin, pointy faced, red headed woman was lying very inelegantly on her back on the floor, shouting at everyone around her. She was wearing such a stupidly tight dress and ridiculously high heels that she just couldn't get up, so Chris and another man were trying to get her to her feet by taking an arm each and hauling her up, but she was shouting at them that they were doing it all wrong, and that they were idiots. There was liquid dripping down her face, and her hair was also wet and plastered to her face. The probable explanation for that was a tray and drinks scattered on the floor around her. A crowd had gathered to see what all the commotion was about.

"Is she drunk, got herself trollied and fallen over?" speculated one lady to another.

"She shouldn't drink if she can't hold it, it's disgraceful, we don't expect that kind of behaviour at this event for goodness sake," replied her friend, turning away in disgust.

Finally they were successful in their attempts to get Edith to her feet, and she hobbled off towards the exit. A heel had snapped off one her shoes, and her dress had ripped at the back. All she was wearing underneath was a tiny thong that wouldn't show under her tight dress, so now one of her bum cheeks was on show to the world. Edith didn't discover this revealing rip until she got back to her room, and was then mortified as she realised that everyone had had an eyeful of her posterior as she'd left the Ballroom.

Why on earth Ellingham had pushed her aside in such a rough manner she simply couldn't comprehend. He'd had a look on his face as if the world was going to end, just because his little wifey had come back into the room. Edith hadn't bothered to come down to the Ball until after dinner had been served, then she'd waited for her moment to slip him her room key with a little note. But he'd bottled it, panicked when he'd seen Louisa, he'd always been such a coward she recalled now. It was his fault she'd lost her balance and in reaching out to save herself she'd grabbed a passing waiter who'd tipped a whole tray of drinks over her, before she'd ended up on her backside on the floor. Then all the stupid morons had just stood fannying around instead of getting on with assisting her efficiently. That's what you got for being in such a remote county full of interbred half wits she supposed. Her initial assessment of Ellingham had been correct after all, he was still riddled with phobias. He was a lost cause, he wasn't worth any more of her time, she told herself to ease her wounded pride. He didn't have the guts to have an affair, he was just too spineless, too gutless. Of course it wasn't anything to do with him preferring his pathetic schoolteacher, that would just be too ridiculous, unthinkable. She decided that she would leave first thing in the morning. If it wasn't so icy and treacherous out there she would have driven back to London now, but with these stupid dark, narrow unlit, twisty country lanes it would be horrendous. No, she would leave to return to civilisation first thing in the morning, before breakfast.

**xXx**

As the warmth of the hotel hit Louisa when she walked in, she really did start to feel a little faint. Martin, noticing that she seemed to be stumbling a little, headed for the nearest seating area and sat her down, tucked away in a corner. She still had his jacket wrapped round her. Martin sat himself directly opposite her, took her by the shoulders and looked straight into her eyes.

"I am _not_ having an affair with Edith. I would never do that. I _could_never do that," Martin told her, emphasising every word as he spoke.

"Then why was she in our room? Why didn't you tell me, why did you keep it a secret? I thought we agreed not to have secrets from each other," Louisa demanded to know, desperately wanting to believe him, but unable to ignore the facts.

"I've no idea why she came to our room, but I didn't tell you straight away because I knew that it would upset you and I didn't want to spoil your evening. I thought that I was being tactful and thoughtful for once. I was going to tell you tomorrow," Martin explained.

"I saw you smiling at her, you looked so happy to see her, and she was all over you, I saw Martin," Louisa said as a fresh tear rolled down her cheek at the memory.

Martin reached into his pocket for his hanky to wipe her tear away.

"I thought it was you when I felt a touch on my sleeve, I was smiling because I thought it was you Louisa. I had no idea Edith was even coming to the Ball," Martin explained.

"What's she doing down here anyway, and just what did she say when she came to our room, what did you talk about?" Louisa demanded to know.

"Err… she said something about having to come down for a meeting, she didn't say that much really, something about it being a shame to lose touch after we'd known each other so long I think," Martin tried to recall just what the woman had said, he hadn't really been listening, he'd just wanted her to leave.

"So how did she know what room you were in?" Louisa was still trying to work out how all this had been possible if Martin was telling the truth.

"I don't know. She said something about seeing me earlier and so coming to say hello. I don't know how or why Louisa, I've no idea why she should act the way she did. I've not even spoken to her since I decided to stay here in Cornwall with you instead of going to London."

Martin was at a loss to explain Edith's actions.

Just then Chris and Jenny spotted them tucked away in the corner, and made their way over. Chris had quickly filled Jenny in as to who exactly Edith was – that she was Martin's ex fiancée from way back.

"Are you alright?" Jenny asked Louisa anxiously as she sat next to her, and looked over at Martin to try to assess if they had sorted themselves out. Louisa just nodded, not feeling up to saying or explaining anything just yet – she still didn't know what to think, what to believe, so she just sat there quietly. Jenny was wise enough not to say any more, she just squeezed Louisa's hand.

"What on earth was Edith playing at Martin?" Chris asked him. He also knew Edith from Medical School. He'd never liked her, he'd always considered that she'd led Martin on and then dumped him to go to Canada. Mind you, at least he'd had a lucky escape was how he'd looked at it.

"I don't know, she just turned up out of the blue and acted rather oddly. Perhaps she's having some sort of mid life crisis?" Martin suggested, baffled.

"Well apparently she was down here last week for a meeting at the hospital. The managers are furious with her because the research she undertook at their clinic has been called into question, and they don't like the hospital's name being associated with it. They wanted her to issue a retraction statement, but she refused and called them retarded interbred simpletons. Didn't go down too well I can tell you," Chris explained.

"That does sound like Edith," Martin had to agree.

"Anyway, I gather from various sources that she was asking a lot of questions about you after the meeting, and then claimed to be very interested in supporting the charity that this Ball is in aid of, and was desperate to buy a ticket," Chris continued. As the charity concerned was a children's charity, and Edith had no interest in children or any kind of charity whatsoever, this seemed most unlikely.

"I still don't understand what she's playing at though," Martin said, none of this seeming to have any logic to him.

"Is…is she still in there?" Louisa quietly asked, not wanting to see her.

Chris and Jenny looked at each and smiled a little.

"Of course, you don't know what happened after you both went outside," Chris said, and then filled them in on what had happened to Edith, her very undignified fall and ignominious exit.

"So she's disappeared, gone back to her room to lick her wounds I imagine," Chris concluded.

Martin looked at Louisa, who was still shivering despite Martin's jacket round her.

"Look I think we should get you upstairs, you're still cold," Martin told her firmly.

"Yes, maybe you're right, I think I would like to go up to our room now Martin, but you two go back to the Ball, enjoy the rest of the evening, what's left of it now," Louisa urged Chris and Jenny as she stood up to go, still a little shaky on her feet. Martin put his arm around her and led her towards the lifts.

"If you need anything just call me, promise?" Jenny said to Louisa, hugging her and kissing her cheek.

"I will," Louisa promised as they got in the lift.

**xXx**

"You do believe me don't you Louisa?" Martin asked her, once they were alone again in their room. Louisa was sat on the bed, having slipped off her clothes and wrapped herself up in the big fluffy towelling dressing gown provided by the hotel. She was also nursing a steaming cup of tea that Martin had made her using the kettle provided in the room.

"I don't know what to believe any more, none of this makes any sense at all," Louisa told him. Martin sat next to her now.

"No, I agree, it doesn't. All I know is that I couldn't ever cheat on you, I couldn't sleep with anyone else. You must know that Louisa. From the very first moment that I saw you, I fell in love with you and I've loved you ever since, I couldn't help myself, however hard I tried to convince myself otherwise for years. There's only ever been you Louisa, since that day. Even when we broke off the Wedding, went our separate ways, I never stopped thinking about you, seeing you everywhere, dreaming about you every night. When you came back and made it clear that you didn't want me in your life, and I thought that I _had _to move on, I tried, I really did. But I couldn't, it was no use. Even when…," Martin stopped now, unsure whether to bring Edith's name up again.

"What Martin, even when what?" Louisa asked him, wanting him to continue with this very uncharacteristic and rare outpouring of his innermost feelings.

He decided to tell her everything, not doing so had made things so much worse this evening. His trying to be tactful had seriously backfired on him.

"I went to a conference with Edith last year, just before I was due to leave for London. It was the evening that you were going to that baby shower thing that was at Bert's I think, and I saw you and told you that we needed to meet up," Martin explained.

"Yes I remember," Louisa cast her mind back. That had been an embarrassing evening, everyone pitying her because Martin was 'abandoning' her to go to London in their opinion.

"Well when I got to the hotel, it turned out that Edith had booked us into a double room, she just assumed that we were going to spend the night together," Martin continued, knowing Louisa wouldn't like hearing this, but needing to explain things to her.

"Did she now, I bet that was a fun night for you." Louisa's feelings of jealousy took over.

"No Louisa, that's the whole point of why I'm telling you all this. I just couldn't. Initially I thought '_Sod it, I'm single and unattached, Louisa isn't interested, she doesn't want me, so why not, I can't spend the rest of my life hankering after someone I can't have, I need to move on'_. But I was kidding myself. I simply couldn't even contemplate making love to any other woman. The thought of being with Edith…well…she repulsed me frankly. You are the only woman I ever want to share my bed with Louisa. So I walked out, left while she was giving her talk, and came back home," Martin explained.

"You just left, just stood her up? You didn't give her any explanation? Wow, she must have been _really_ pissed off with you," Louisa exclaimed.

She rather liked the thought of that. And it did sound like the Martin of old, not turning up for dates, not ringing to apologise or explain. She'd had her own experience of that when Martin had stood her up at the pub when they'd been meant to meet up for a drink, but that was not nearly as bad as him sneaking off from the night of passion that Edith had obviously planned for them.

"No, she didn't take it too well as I expect you can imagine, so she decided that I had developed a new phobia, a fear of intimacy to explain my lack of interest in having sex with her," Martin told her. "She couldn't accept that I just didn't want to be with her."

Louisa sat quietly as she thought over everything Martin had told her. Suddenly everything made sense, as the pieces fell into place.

"Do you know what I think happened here this evening Martin?" Louisa asked him.

"Tell me please, because I haven't got a clue," Martin insisted.

"Surely you've heard the expression _'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'_?" Louisa asked him.

"Well yes, but what do you mean?" Martin still didn't understand what she was driving at.

"You scorned Edith by not spending the night with her, which I really love you for, by the way. Chris said she was at the hospital last week for a meeting. What if she saw us, saw _me_ at the hospital, when we were there for the scan? I'm obviously pregnant, which is pretty strong evidence of an active sex life, wouldn't you say?" Louisa explained her theory.

"So you're saying that her behaviour was because she was jealous? Jealous because I wouldn't have sex with her, but you're pregnant proving that I have sex with you? Seems a bit far fetched to me," Martin scoffed.

"Well, you come up with another logical explanation then. I imagine she's the competitive type, always has to win, to come first, to get what she wants isn't she?" Louisa argued.

"Yes, that's her alright," Martin agreed. Then he suddenly remembered that he'd felt Edith slip something into his pocket, which he'd forgotten all about it till now. He reached over to his jacket which was hanging on the back of the chair, and reached into the pocket. He produced a room key, with a little note wrapped round it. Written on it was a room number, and a message which really shocked him.

'_Be my F**k buddy. No strings attached. Just great sex'_

That was what Edith had written. She'd found it worked pretty well recently in the London circles she moved in, at conferences, and meetings in hotels. Even doctors had their needs, and it was a clinical, practical arrangement. She felt that it would be a perfect arrangement for Ellingham, no messy emotions to complicate things, he could go home to his little pregnant wife if that was what he wanted, and she would have good sex. She felt the score would be even once she'd had sex with him, it would get rid of those horrid pangs of jealousy.

"That's outrageous!" Martin spluttered. "I'm going to see her, tell her to F**k off, never mind about being a F**k buddy."

"No Martin, don't bother, don't waste any more of our time on her, from what Chris told us it sounds like she had her comeuppance when you pushed her over in the Ballroom, and she ended up dripping wet and showing her arse off to the world." Louisa couldn't help it, the thought of it made her giggle. She wanted to hear all the gory details from Jenny tomorrow, that was for sure.

"I didn't push her over, although I may have removed her arm from me quite forcibly I suppose. I thought you were going to faint, and I wanted to get to you," Martin replied defensively.

Louisa realised that Martin really was clueless in these matters – thank God. Edith had made a pass at him, and he hadn't even realised.

"Oh Martin, enough talk of that woman. I can think of much better things to do than talk about _her,"_Louisa now insisted.

"What did you have in mind?" Martin asked.

"Make love to me Martin. Please. I need to know that you do still want me, that you do still find me desirable," Louisa whispered as she leant over to tenderly kiss him. He was still her Martin, he hadn't cheated on her, he _was_ still her rock, and she loved him so very much. Edith would never have what she had with Martin whatever tricks she tried to pull, she knew for certain now. Her actions had made Martin confide his innermost deepest feelings to Louisa in a way that he'd never done before, and for that she was almost grateful to Edith.

"Of course I still want you, more than ever, but are you sure? I just thought you wouldn't want to now.. you know…so I've been holding back," Martin said as he tenderly put his hand on her belly and returned her kiss.

"Yes, I'm very sure Martin. We might have to start getting a bit more inventive as I get bigger, but that might be rather fun, don't you agree?" Louisa suggested as she now straddled his lap, undid his bow tie and then started on his shirt.

"Being inventive is my forte actually," Martin replied, pulling her to him as he slid his hands inside her dressing gown. She hadn't quite removed everything after all, she was still wearing just her diamond necklace and bracelet.

**xXx**

At breakfast the following morning, Jenny did better than fill her in with the details of Edith's downfall. The official photographer who had been wandering around taking informal pictures had been on hand to take pictures of it all – the fall, her being unable to get up, her limping off with the back of her dress ripped and exposing her backside. Jenny had spoken to him and persuaded him not to delete the most embarrassing ones of Edith as he'd originally planned to.

"Oh Edith's such a good sport, she won't mind them being displayed. She was so keen to support our charity and all proceeds from the sale of the photos go to our charity, so she'll be thrilled if we sell lots of copies of her pictures," Jenny had assured him wickedly. Edith had upset a lot of people at the hospital with her arrogant and rude manner, so the pictures did indeed prove to be very popular.


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of****Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Charity Begins at Home - Chapter 29**

When they got back home from the Charity Ball, Louisa sat and chatted with Joan while Martin disappeared into his study to catch up on all his emails and correspondence that inevitably built up in just the short time that they had been away. She filled her in with everything that had happened at the Ball, while Luke happily played and chatted around them.

"Serves her right, never did like that bloody Edith woman, she was such a cold calculating piece of work, the way she treated Martin back then in their student days. Couldn't even get my name right either – Auntie _Jill,"_ she snorted. But then she just sat there quietly, and seemed rather preoccupied, not like her usual chatty self. Even playing with Luke didn't seem to cheer her up as it usually did.

Over a cup of tea, Louisa tackled her to see if she could find out what was on the older woman's mind.

"Is every thing alright, or is something bothering you Joan?" she enquired.

"What? No, no, really, I'm fine," Joan replied, smiling weakly.

"Come on, out with it, I can tell there's something on your mind," Louisa persisted.

"Well if you must know, the MOT is due on my truck next month. It barely scraped through last year, and I'm pretty certain it'll fail this year, and that the cost of the work to get it through will be more than it's worth, and I can't afford it anyway, truth be told," Joan confessed. It had been worrying her for quite a while. She'd been pushing it to the back of her mind, but now she was going to have to face it.

"Your truck is pretty old. How about replacing it with something newer, maybe a large estate car with more passenger seats?" Louisa suggested. She and Martin had been trying to find ways to help Joan financially for quite some time, but she always stubbornly refused any offers of help from them.

"Can't afford it. I'll just have to manage without it, though quite how I'm not too sure if I'm honest," Joan sighed.

"Then let us help you with getting a new one. You know we want to help. Martin would be a lot happier if you had something newer and more reliable, and you know how he worries about car safety and accidents. Pauline said he was worried sick when he heard you'd had an accident that time with Mrs McLynn," Louisa suggested.

"No, it's my problem and I'll solve it. Martin's done more than enough for me, I'm not going to be any kind of burden on the pair of you," Joan insisted stubbornly.

"No one could be less of a burden than you Joan! You help us all the time, just as you have this weekend so that we could stay over at the hotel and not have to worry about Luke, knowing that he was being looked after by you. I'm sure you've let your farm produce business slide since we've had Luke, you always drop everything to look after him whenever we ask you," Louisa chided her.

"I love looking after Luke anytime, you know that. It's not a chore, I'd rather be looking after him than doing anything else," Joan said, truthfully.

"Yes, and maybe we're guilty of taking advantage of that. We simply couldn't manage without your help, and when this next baby comes, we'll need your help even more. So the least you can do is let us help _you_ out. We both have good jobs, earning good money, and don't forget that I still have White Rose Cottage which brings in additional income too. To be honest Joan, it makes us feel very uncomfortable that you won't let us help you financially," Louisa told her.

"Don't be so ridiculous! We're family, he's my grandson as far as I'm concerned, of course I'll look after him any time, that's what family's do, help each other out," Joan replied.

"My point exactly Joan. So why won't you let us help? How do you think we feel seeing you struggle when we can easily afford to help you? And anyway, you'll need some sort of reliable transport to be able to help us out when we have both Luke and the new baby," Louisa pointed out.

"I know, that has been worrying me, but even so…" Joan conceded.

"And maybe you need to let Martin feel useful and helpful. Remember what you told me, when I was ranting and raving about him being so protective of me? You told me that I had to let him help, that it was what _he_ needed to do. Well I think he needs to help you, to stop him feeling guilty about you, worrying in the winter that you can't afford your heating bills, things like that. He can easily afford to help you, so don't be so proud, let him be protective of you as well as me Joan," Louisa told her firmly. She felt that the time had come for some plain talking with the older woman, just as Joan had done with her before.

"Well I suppose you could have a point," Joan admitted. Her income had dropped this year, she hadn't devoted nearly so much time to her farm because she loved being with Luke so much, he came before anything else, and she was so thrilled about the new baby coming too. And if she was honest with herself, it really would be a weight off her mind not to have to worry so much financially and to get her transport problems sorted for once and for all.

"We're family Joan. As you said, family help each other, agreed? It will make Martin feel much happier too. Another side of him is coming out, he's discovering that he enjoys looking after us and being needed, so I think we should encourage it. And if you did let us help you, you could get a few of those jobs done round the farm that you've been putting off, that would be good wouldn't it?"

"OK, well when you put it like that, I suppose I can be a stubborn old bird at times, so maybe I shall have to swallow my pride and let Martin help me," Joan finally accepted.

**xXx**

"How the hell did you get her to agree to that?" Martin asked in astonishment when Louisa told him that Joan had agreed to let them help her to get a new car to replace her truck, and to let them help with her heating bills over the winter by way of an allowance - he'd been trying for years without success. Previously, the only way he'd been able to help with paying off his father for his share of Joan's farm was by not telling her about it, she hadn't found out about it until it had all been completed.

"Oh I just pointed out a few home truths, I told her that we're family, and that if she wouldn't accept our help, then maybe we couldn't accept her help so much with Luke and the new baby," Louisa told him with a little smile.

"You didn't actually say that did you?" Martin asked her, shocked.

"No, of course not, give me some credit. I basically told her that we're family, and being family means having to learn to accept help as well as to give it. Joan is one of life's givers, she never takes anything from anyone, but I pointed out that she should allow us to help her as we are in the very fortunate position of being able to, and that we felt really guilty and upset just standing by and watching her struggle when she helps us out so much. Eventually she saw my point and she agreed," Louisa explained.

"Well naturally I'm delighted, I'll look into getting a new car for her straight away before she changes her mind, maybe an estate rather than a truck. And if you can get her bank details…."

"Already got them. We can set up a regular payment straight into her account with no messing around I thought," Louisa said, waving a piece of paper at him.

Martin looked at her with admiration.

"You really do care about her, don't you?" he said.

"Of course I do. She's wonderful with Luke, I trust her completely with him and they simply adore each other. We just take it for granted that she's always happy to help with him at any time. We really couldn't manage without her – can you imagine having to find another baby sitter, someone we could trust and rely on the way we can with Joan?"

"I wouldn't trust any of those so called babysitters, most of them are disgusting, revolting teenagers who haven't got the first idea of how to look after a baby, I wouldn't trust any of them in our house…." Martin started to rant.

"Exactly. You've always said she's been more of a mother to you than your actual mother ever was. Well I suppose I could say the same, my mother's never done anything for me the way that Joan has. Don't forget that Joan was pretty much the only person who welcomed me back with open arms when I came back to the village six months pregnant," Louisa pointed out.

"Yes, she was really good to you, wasn't she? I'm so glad you feel that way about her. And I'm really glad you that managed to persuade her to let us help her, I've been very worried about how she was going to cope through the winter with all her heating bills. And I would rather she wound down the amount of work she puts in on her farm at her age, so maybe now she will," Martin said.

He took Louisa in his arms and held her tight, loving her for caring about Joan as much as he did.


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of****Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**The First Rosy Year - Chapter 30**

The florist looked up as the door to his shop opened one Monday lunch time in December, and he was surprised to see Doctor Ellingham enter. He couldn't remember ever actually seeing him in his shop before, even when he'd been doing the flowers for the Wedding that never took place – and for the Wedding that _did_ take place.

"Good Day Doctor Ellingham. And what can I do for you? Bouquet of flowers for your lovely wife maybe, is it her birthday perhaps?" he suggested.

"Umm… anniversary.…actually. Not sure what to get. Has to have white roses in though. Twelve. Perfumed ones. To be delivered up to my house first thing on Thursday morning."

Martin was feeling rather embarrassed and out of his comfort zone. He'd never bought or ordered flowers before for anyone, but he knew that Louisa loved flowers. They had both worn red roses at their wedding, and she had told him how much she loved them, that they signified passionate love, but what a shame it was that they weren't perfumed as most bought roses don't have any perfume these days.

There was a sharp intake of breath from the florist.

"Ooh, that's a tall order, specially this time of year, perfumed roses have to be specially ordered in, and they're pretty pricey. I'd recommend a large luxury mixed bouquet with a dozen normal white roses for a fraction of the price, I doubt she'd even notice the difference, if you want my opinion," the florist advised, pulling out a folder containing pictures of the different types of bouquets and showing him the one he had in mind.

"No, they have to be perfumed, cost is immaterial. And I'm assuming that you're capable of keeping out of trouble long enough to complete this task without getting yourself arrested again?" Martin demanded to know, looking at his watch impatiently. His first patient of the afternoon was due at the surgery in ten minutes.

"I'll have you know that was a complete misunderstanding, all charges against me were dropped, it was that tosser Penhale completely overreacting," the florist told him indignantly.

"Hmm, whatever. Well can you do it or not? Martin asked impatiently. He supposed that he could be telling the truth, he knew that anything was possible with that idiot Penhale.

"I'll make some phone calls, see what I can do and let you know this afternoon," the florist agreed, always keen to do business with a good profit margin, and the Doc had said the magic words 'cost immaterial'

**xXx**

Louisa was surprised by a knock on their door early on the morning of their first Wedding Anniversary. As it was now the school holidays for the Christmas break, she was enjoying a lie in and had only just got up. Martin had got up earlier to deal with Luke as he usually did when he was around.

"Louisa, can you get that, I've got my hands full at the moment," Martin called out to her.

"Oh, OK...right, I'm still in my dressing gown, but I suppose I'm decent," Louisa replied, making her way down.

She opened the door to see a huge bouquet of flowers, so big that she couldn't actually see who was holding it.

"Mrs Ellingham?" the florist enquired, knowing full well that it was.

"Yes…good heavens, are they for me? Are you sure that you've got the right address, the right person?" she enquired. It didn't even occur to her that they might be from Martin, he _never _sent flowers.

"Definitely for you. Check the card. Enjoy," the florist told her, handing the enormous bouquet over.

"Gosh, right. I will. Thanks, they are _beautiful,"_Louisa said excitedly_,_closing the door and carrying them into the kitchen.

As she walked in, she buried her nose into the bouquet and then exclaimed,

"Oh wow, they smell divine, the roses are perfumed, they're _gorgeous_!"

She quickly found the card and opened it, eager to know who had sent her such a wonderful bouquet.

It read:

'_White Roses because White Rose Cottage is where things really began for us. Twelve roses, one to celebrate each month of our marriage. Happy Anniversary. Yours always, Martin X'_

Louisa gasped and looked up as Martin now entered the kitchen carrying Luke, and looking very bashful.

"They're from you!" Louisa said in astonishment.

"That's correct," Martin confirmed as he fiddled about putting Luke in his high chair.

"But you don't do flowers," she continued, still not quite believing what she was hearing.

"Maybe I didn't but maybe I do now," Martin replied, still embarrassed.

"And you've written beautiful words too, and remembered that I prefer perfumed roses," Louisa looked again at the card and re-read the words. They really touched her, so she went over to Martin and put her arms around his neck to hug and kiss him.

"What happened to the gruff, monosyllabic, and rude Martin that we all know and love?" she tenderly asked him as she touched his cheek.

"Don't forget about 'well meaning' too," he reminded her. "He's still there as far as everyone else is concerned, don't you worry about that," Martin replied, happily kissing her back.

He was very gratified with her reaction. He'd discovered that giving gifts to Louisa gave him a lot of pleasure too. He'd never had anyone before to give such gifts to, someone who would appreciate them the way that Louisa did. He'd also never really had anyone before who'd given him the kind of thoughtful, meaningful presents that she did. His parents certainly never had, Edith had bought him material things with a high worth but little thought, even Auntie Joan was always very practical and down to earth with her gifts. The cuff links that Louisa had designed herself and had then had made were especially touching for him, the way that she'd researched the fact that the forget-me-not flower signified true love, and had then had a tiny one engraved on each cuff link along with their entwined initials. She had worried that he wouldn't like them, that he would think them rather silly, but in fact he now wore them virtually every day rather than keeping them for special occasions only, because he liked them so much.

So he decided that he would try to be as thoughtful for her, which he found quite difficult to begin with. However, with practice, it was getting a bit easier, and he found that he quite enjoyed the challenge of thinking of something.

Louisa now turned to him and said,

"We've never chosen a name for this house, so how about we call it 'White Rose _House_'? Maybe we could ask Joan's advice about planting a white rose in the front garden somewhere, maybe near the front door. Don't you think that would be nice, as a sort of a continuation?" she suggested.

"I suppose we could, if that's what you want. We'd still have the house number anyhow, so it wouldn't make a lot of difference for practical purposes," Martin said. He turned the idea over in his mind, and rather liked it.

"White Rose House it is then," he agreed.


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of****Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**This Chapter is a 'Christmas Special' which covers both Christmas last year, and Christmas this year. I hope it's not too confusing.**

**'Tis the Season to be Grumpy - Chapter 31**

Louisa sighed as she looked at the rather small Christmas tree that she'd put up high on a table this year – hopefully out of Luke's reach. Just in case he somehow did manage to reach it – he could be a very determined little boy at times – she'd decorated it with soft, safe knitted Christmas decorations that she'd bought from the craft stall at her school's Christmas Fayre. She shuddered to think of him getting hold of a glass bauble that could shatter – he still put everything in his mouth. It was nowhere near as impressive as the big tree that she'd put up last year, their first Christmas together when Luke had been a five month old baby who simply stayed where you put him. She thought back with happy memories to that very special time.

_**The First Christmas**_

_Things were going pretty well, Luke was a happy, contented baby, and they had just got married, but had kept it a secret. Louisa had been determined that their first Christmas was going to be special. She remembered many unhappy times at Christmas, especially as a child, and then last Christmas when she had been pregnant and on her own in London, not knowing how she was going to manage when the baby came, had to have been the worst Christmas ever for her._

_But Louisa had very happy memories of spending Christmas with her friend Carol's family here in this house that was now their home, and that's what she wanted to recreate. Martin couldn't understand what all the fuss about Christmas was, he usually worked through it, although since he had been down in Cornwall he did usually see Joan at some point._

"_A vastly over commercialised, opportunistic, materialistic day in the calendar that has no special meaning as far as I'm concerned" was how Martin described it to Louisa._

"_Well, it doesn't have to be like that for us, I think we should make it a special family day, especially as this is Luke's first Christmas," Louisa had replied._

"_He's just a baby, and like me, will think it no different from any other day," Martin argued._

"_Look, all I want is that we spend the day together, invite Joan to join us, enjoy a lovely meal, give a small present to each other…"_

"_What do you mean about giving presents?" Martin asked, looking worried. "I don't really do presents, you know that."_

"_That's not true, you gave me a birthday present this year didn't you?" Louisa reminded him._

_Louisa had been very surprised that he had remembered her birthday this year. It was on August 14th, when Luke was exactly one month old – he had been born on July__ 14th. Martin had given her a book on Victorian house architecture – a very thoughtful present actually because he knew that she was very interested in the history of their Victorian house. There had been a card too, just signed 'Martin'. The card was of an old master painting, similar to a previous card that he had given her the year he'd tried to apologize for accusing her of stalking him, the last time she'd seen her father before his latest trip to prison. Both were rather ugly pictures in Louisa's opinion, but they were technically brilliant, which is what Martin admired. She'd assumed that Joan had reminded him about her birthday, but she now discovered that he had a spread sheet of important dates, and he had included her birthday on this. Martin had a spreadsheet for most things, she had since found out_

"_Well that was different, we're both interested in the history of our house," Martin tried to explain._

"_It was thoughtful, so it shows that you can be when you try Martin. Look I'm not talking about big expensive gifts, it's not about money, it can be something homemade. That's what I'm telling Joan, she can't afford to buy expensive gifts, and I wouldn't want her to. All I would like you to do is give three small, thoughtful gifts – one to Joan, one to Luke and one to me. Joan and I will do the same. That's not a lot to ask, is it?" Louisa told Martin. She was determined that Martin should participate in their Christmas, not just hide away and pretend it wasn't happening. She had instructed him that for just this one day, he was not allowed to disappear into his study._

_Well actually he thought it was a lot to ask of him. He normally gave Joan some vouchers for Christmas, which she always seemed happy with because it meant that she could treat herself to some new clothes. But what on earth was he supposed to give Louisa and Luke?_

_He did realis__e that this was important to Louisa. He knew what an unsettled childhood she had had, and some of the hard times she had been through since, so he supposed that it was natural that she wanted to make a fuss about this Christmas. He decided that he would try his best to make her happy._

_**xXx**_

_In the lead up to Christmas, privately Martin had to admit that he rather liked returning home in the evening after work to see their house looking so festive and welcoming in the gloomy winter evenings. Louisa had put a small Christmas tree outside the front door with lights on it. There was an arched Advent light in his study window. Inside the big bay window at the front of the house was the main Christmas tree, also lit up and decorated. Louisa hadn't gone overboard with the decorations, she didn't like too many. But she remembered her friend's family having a large, real Christmas tree in the front bay window, and always thinking that it was beautiful, so that's what she had wanted to recreate. Next year would be a lot more difficult as Luke would be a toddler, so she thought that she would make the most of it this year._

_It worked out that Martin was off on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but on call Boxing Day and the day after. Louisa was fine about that, Martin was a doctor, and that's what he had to do. Joan was more than happy to come and spend Christmas Day with __them; she understood that Louisa wanted to have their first Christmas in their own house._

_Louisa had told Martin how she was organi__sing Christmas._

"_We put our presents, which must be properly wrapped up so that you can't see what it is, under the tree on Christmas Eve, but we don't open them until after we've had our Christmas Lunch, then we have something to look forward to in the afternoon," she explained._

"_Hmmm," grunted Martin "I wouldn't hold your breath about the presents from me being something to look forward to."_

"_Oh bah humbug to you, don't be such a misery," Louisa said, rather fed up with Martin's attitude._

_However, on Christmas Eve, there were three wrapped presents from Martin under the tree, as she had instructed him, along with the other presents, so Louisa was happy._

_**xXx**_

_Louisa was woken up on Christmas morning by the sound of Luke happily babbling to himself in his cot in his room opposite theirs – Martin only slept in his bedroom now when he was on call. She knew the babbling would turn to crying shortly because Luke would be hungry and need his nappy changing. Martin often went to him in the mornings because he was usually awake first, and it meant that he could see Luke before he went to work. So Louisa pretended to still be asleep, and sure enough Martin got up and went to Luke._

"_I suppose you think it's your breakfast time do you?" Martin said as he walked in._

_Luke turned to Martin, laughing and babbling in his delight at seeing his Daddy._

_Martin picked him up and took him to the changing unit – he__'d got used to changing nappies - and quickly sorted Luke out. Luke 'chatted' to him the whole time, making lots of babbling sounds. Martin talked back to him, not in baby talk, which he just couldn't do, but factually, telling him what he was doing._

"_Let's change this disgusting nappy, then we'd better get your bottle or else you'll only start complaining I suppose," Martin told him._

_Luke took after Louisa in that he was a very sociable baby, and he chatted and babbled back to Martin._

_Once sorted, Martin got Luke's bottle, and then went with him back into their bedroom to Louisa._

"_Happy Christmas," said Louisa, sitting up in bed._

"_Happy Christmas too. Umm….. here, these are for you," Martin said, rather shyly handing Louisa two wrapped up presents, as he sat on the bed and started giving Luke his bottle._

"_Oh but Martin, I thought you'd already put your presents under the tree?"_

"_Mmm well, I think it best that these are opened in err.. private," Martin explained, not really looking at her._

"_Oh, I see," said an intrigued Louisa, as she started opening them._

_The first was a large flat box, which when she opened it, she saw had come from 'Exclusive Elegance'. Inside, amongst the tissue paper, was __a beautiful underwear set in a gorgeous shade of midnight blue, and it included stockings and suspenders – Martin's favourite. The second present was a tall square box, which contained a bottle of expensive Champagne – Louisa's favourite._

"_I thought… hoped….for later, like the night of the Ball …." Martin explained, squirming a little and concentrating hard on Luke. He'd never bought anything like this before and was feeling rather embarrassed._

"_Martin! You actually bought me….. Wow." Louisa was lost for words in amazement that Martin had actually chosen and bought such a personal and intimate gift. Of course he hadn't actually gone to 'Exclusive Elegance', he'd checked out their website, having found it on the card that had been with Louisa's lingerie at the Ball, and had corresponded his requirements by email. They'd been extremely helpful, they already had Louisa's measurements and soon ascertained just what Martin wanted and had arranged for it to be delivered, gift wrapped, to his surgery so that Louisa wouldn't see it. Pauline had assumed the parcel contained medical supplies, it was marked 'Private and Confidential, for the personal attention of Doctor Ellingham only', so she had simply left it on his desk for him, not suspecting in any way the nature of the contents._

"_Thank you. I shall try them out later, then you can see what you think of your choice," Louisa told him, reaching over to kiss his cheek, which was now rather flushed._

_**xXx**_

_Joan arrived at their house mid morning, bringing with her various delicious items including her own special recipe Christmas Pudding, and then proceeded to help with the rest of the catering while Luke was having his morning nap. It became a joint effort between the three of them to produce the meal, working together happily in the kitchen._

_There was some mellow music playing in the background that even Martin rather liked. Louisa set the table using her special Ch__ristmas plates as she liked to use something other than their everyday tableware. Martin had quite a collection of his own china, but she left it up to him to decide whether or not it should actually be used or just kept as ornaments. Looking at what Louisa was using, he produced two serving dishes that fitted in rather well with her theme, saying to her,_

"_These were my grandmother's, you might like to use them to serve the vegetables in if you wish."_

"_That's lovely Martin, they're beautiful, I'd love to use them," Louisa replied happily._

_Martin then also produced some beautiful cut glass champagne flutes and wine glasses, and polished them before he put them on the table too. Louisa was thrilled to see him finally getting into the spirit of things. He could have water in his glass if that's what he wanted, but at least he was joining in._

_Next he produced a very nice set of cutlery and polished that too before setting the table with it._

_In the centre of the table was an arrangement that Louisa had put together herself, using foliage from their garden, including some holly with red berries – she had also made a wreath for their front door from the same foliage. Martin didn't make much comment, nevertheless he did notice all these little touches and found he rather liked them. Louisa was very good at making their home welcoming and personal. He'd felt that way about White Rose Cottage, it had so much character and colour and well….life about it. Even the house that Louisa had rented from Mr Routledge, disgusting as it had been when she'd moved in, she'd soon changed and made into as lovely a place as she'd been able to. Louisa just seemed to have the knack, the gift, of turning a house into a home, and he loved that about her. Other people spent a fortune on tasteless Christmas plastic decorations but never achieved the same affect as Louisa did with her home made items._

_Once everything was cooked, Martin put his surgeons' skills to very good use as he carved the turkey. While he was doing this, Louisa went and got Luke who had woken from his nap. She changed him and put him into the little suit that she had got him specially to wear today – it was bright red with 'My First Christmas' on the front. He looked so cute and adorable in it, even Martin couldn't help but smile as she brought him in and sat him in his high chair with them._

_Martin had to admit that the meal was one of the best he'd ever had. Apart from the wonderful food, the relaxed, loving and happy atmosphere made him begin to realise what he had been missing out on all the previous years, the years when he had buried himself in work instead, to fill the gap that he hadn't allowed himself to acknowledge was there in his life._

_By mid afternoon, when all the food had been eaten and the plates cleared away, it was time to look under the Christmas Tree and give out the presents._

"_I think Luke should have his presents first," Louisa suggested, aware that he would be getting tired and grizzly soon and need a nap._

_There were three presents for Luke. Louisa 'helped' him to unwrap the first one._

"_Oh look, it's from Grannie, it's a train, that's lovely, thank you." Joan had found some of Martin's things in her attic from when he was a boy, and this was a wooden train that he had loved to play with. Louisa thought it would look rather good on the shelf in Luke's room for now._

"_And this is from Mummy, Luke." Louisa had given him a whole range of board books. Young as he was, Luke loved to cuddle up with his Mummy while she read simple colourful books to him – it was never too early to instill a love of books in her opinion._

"_This one's from Daddy." Louisa was very curious herself to see what Martin had come up with._

"_I hope it's appropriate, I wasn't sure…." Martin said._

_Louisa helped Luke to discard the paper to reveal a box. On opening the box, the contents turned out to be a beautiful traditional teddy bear, made from the softest plush fur. It growled when it was turned over. Luke's face lit up when he saw it and he smiled and giggled at it._

"_It err…meets all the necessary safety standards," Martin explained to hide his awkwardness. He remembered having a favourite teddy bear as a child that he'd loved and had always taken to bed with him, but he had no idea what had happened to it. His mother had probably thrown it away when he'd been sent off to boarding school, she'd never liked to have any of his things cluttering up her house._

"_Martin it's perfect, he loves it, look you can see that he does." Louisa was delighted that Martin had chosen a gift that Luke so obviously liked, it would make him feel more confident about buying gifts in the future she hoped._

_He could see that Luke had grabbed hold of the teddy and kept looking at it and feeling it. It was also obvious that he was ready for a sleep, he was yawning and rubbing his eyes, so Joan took him up, along with his new teddy once they had made sure that any labels had been removed._

_Louisa went over and kissed Martin on his cheek._

"_Well done. See, you can be very thoughtful, you knew exactly what Luke would like."_

"_Hmm. Just luck he seems to like it, anyway it's a traditional gift, a teddy bear, nothing unusual," Martin tried to explain his gift away, but he was pleased that he seemed to have hit the mark with Luke in any case. He just hoped his other gifts would go down as well._

_Once Joan returned, they carried on with the present opening._

_Louisa had wrapped up three presents to be from Luke, which were framed photos taken by the photographer who had come into school to take all the children's pictures before the holidays._

"_Oh what a lovely picture, he's so adorable, he is just the most beautiful baby," Joan exclaimed on opening hers, thrilled to have a photo to show off to her friends._

_Martin didn't say anything on opening his one, but he agreed that he could have it on his desk when Louisa suggested it. His was a double frame, one side had a Wedding photo of theirs in, and the other side had the photo of Luke._

_Joan gave Martin and Louisa a set of her home made pickles, each with a beautifully hand decorated special label._

"_Thank you, we can have some of these with the cold meats later," Louisa said happily. Joan made the very best home produced pickles, chutneys and jams, they were always delicious._

_Now Joan unwrapped her present from Louisa to find a lovely blouse that she had spotted on her last shopping trip to Truro._

"_I saw this and thought of you at once, but if it doesn't fit or you don't like it, you can change it and I won't be offended," Louisa told her._

"_I love it, I'll try it on later, but it certainly it looks the right size to me" Joan said, thrilled as she rarely bought new clothes for herself, and it made such a nice change to have another female in the family to actually choose something personal for her._

_Martin unwrapped his present from Louisa to find some new pyjamas and dressing gown. They were exactly the same style that he usually wore, but were not the boring grey colour that he always chose. They were a lovely shade of blue that she hoped he could accept as not being too controversial._

"_Thank you. They look as if they will be suitable," Martin said. He'd never even thought about buying any other colour nightwear before, but he supposed that if Louisa liked blue ones, and not many other people would see them any way, he could comfortably wear them._

_Louisa leant over to kiss him, and whispered in his ear_

"_The rest of your presents come later this evening."_

_Joan pretend not to hear anything as she happily looked again at her blouse._

_Martin cleared his throat and felt a blush creep over his face. To hide his embarrassment, he handed Joan her present from him. He'd stuck to his usual present of vouchers for her, and she was genuinely happy with this, especially as now she thought maybe Louisa would come and help her choose something new this time._

_Finally, it was Louisa's turn to open her present from Martin. She was intrigued, but wasn't expecting too much, although he had surprised her with his 'private' gifts earlier. Once she removed the wrapping paper, there was a cardboard box to open. Inside this was a small Victorian wooden box. It had an inlaid mother of pearl pattern on the top, and when she opened it, it had various compartments, some with little lids that lifted out. It was beautiful._

"_I thought that maybe it could sit on your dressing table," Martin suggested, hoping that she liked it. He'd collected quite a few boxes himself in the past, mostly of oriental origin, and had a reliable contact with a trusted antique dealer in London. He'd spoken to them and asked them to let him know if any Victorian boxes came up. As luck would have it, this one had turned up, and after being emailed detailed photos of it, Martin had agreed to buy it. It had been another item that had been delivered to the surgery._

"_It's….it's gorgeous, Martin, wherever did you find such a lovely thing, certainly not in the village," Louisa asked him, somewhat in a state of shock._

"_Well, I have my contacts, and as you are keen on Victorian artefacts, I thought you might appreciate it – I hope so anyway," Martin explained. He was gratified that she seemed to like it anyway._

"_I love it, so thank you," Louisa leant over to give him another kiss._

_**xXx**_

_Much later that evening, when they were finally alone, Louisa sampled her champagne and demonstrated to her new husband just how much she loved all of her presents. Martin discovered that his new wife really liked them very much indeed, making him extremely glad that he had made the effort to give her gifts that she found so acceptable._

**The Second Christmas**

Louisa sent a Christmas card to her Father in prison, and included a letter updating him with all the latest happenings in their lives, and a selection of photos of Luke, herself and Martin too, which she hoped would be proof to him of their happy family life. She showed Martin what she was sending, and although he said very little after reading her letter, at least he didn't raise any objections. He was just happy that no secrets were being kept now.

Louisa decided to follow a very similar plan for Christmas this year as she had the previous year, because it had worked so well. She just had to adapt everything to account for a very active and curious little toddler. She could still have her little Christmas tree lit up outside by the front door, but she had to change the main Christmas tree for something smaller and safer. She realised that it would have to be this way for the next few years, with the new baby coming too, so she was glad that she'd made the most of the previous year with the big Christmas tree.

**xXx**

On Christmas Eve Martin sighed as he ran his hand over the cold empty space next to him in bed. Louisa had gone to the Christmas Midnight Eucharist service at St Roger's church. A whole crowd of staff and Governors from school had gone together, invited by Felicity Paterson, the vicar. She had replaced Martin as the Community Governor on the school committee, and had become a very active and popular member.

Louisa had tried without success to persuade Martin to come along to the service as well.

"It's such a beautiful service Martin, you never know, you might actually enjoy it. I've always found it to be a very spiritual start to the Christmas celebrations, it begins with the choir entering in a candle lit procession, and the music is just wonderful. I really missed going to it last year, when I still felt uncomfortable going back to the church where we were meant to have got married. Surely you remember what a great service Felicity did for Luke's Christening, so I'm sure this one will be very good too," Louisa explained to Martin.

"Good for you. Not my kind of thing, never has been. I'm happy to stay and look after Luke while you attend, save getting Joan out to babysit on a cold winter's night."

Martin wasn't on call, so he couldn't use that excuse. This year he'd volunteered to be on call over the New Year period so that he would be off for Christmas, as he knew it was the more important celebration as far as Louisa was concerned.

"Well I think it's a shame that you aren't prepared to be a bit more open minded and come along, but that's your choice I suppose. There's a whole group of us going from school anyhow, maybe I'll get a lift with one of the others, silly us all taking our cars along," Louisa said.

"Right, umm…who do you think you will go with then?" Martin enquired, suddenly remembering that Paul Blake would probably be going as he was one of the Governors, and he was always very attentive to Louisa. Martin had a very jealous nature at times, even when he knew that he was being irrational – he just couldn't help it. Louisa was such a beautiful, talented woman and he still found it hard to believe that she was _his_wife, carrying _his_ baby, that _he _was the lucky man she had married. Mind you, when he thought about Louisa's extreme reaction to seeing him with Edith, he recognised a similar jealous trait in her personality too.

"I'm not sure yet, but probably Emma and Joe Penhale," Louisa replied. Joe had become very involved in a lot of the school activities. As part of cutting down on her work commitments as she had promised Martin she would, Louisa had handed over the running of the School Christmas Fayre to Emma, and Joe had worked very hard helping her.

Whatever his faults, he always wholeheartedly joined in community activities, and Louisa had felt a little envious to see them both so involved at the Fayre. Martin would never join in that way. But then she told herself firmly that he had many other good qualities, and nobody was perfect after all. Joe Penhale certainly wasn't, but his heart was in the right place. Most of the community still doubted that Martin had a heart at all, right place or not, because they didn't see the side of Martin that she did – he still kept it well hidden from the rest of the world.

"Ah right, well, you go and have a nice time with the God Squad," Martin had told her.

**xXx**

So now he was waiting for her to get back. The service didn't start until 11.30pm, so before she was picked up they had spent a companionable evening together, getting things ready for Christmas day, once they had completed Luke's usual bath and bedtime routine. Louisa was a stickler for keeping Luke to his normal routine whenever possible, Luke didn't take well to changes, so it made for an easier life, and Martin fully supported this – he'd never liked change either.

This year Martin didn't need any prompting to get out all their best and favourite glasses, plates and dishes – they regularly used them now when Chris and Jenny came over for dinner.

When Joe and Emma came to collect Louisa, they were using Emma's car and not Joe's police Land Rover. Martin was relieved, he'd been told off by Louisa when he'd voiced concerns over her going in the back of the police Land Rover without a proper seat belt.

"Don't worry so much Martin, we're only popping up to the church, it's just up the road, it'll be fine," she'd told him.

"Can't expect a lady in your condition to travel in the police vehicle like a perp, can we?" Joe explained as he fussed around Louisa, opening the door for her, and then making sure the seat belt went round her bump properly. He was planning to propose to Emma this Christmas, and he was very keen to start a family with her, so was trying to show his caring side by looking after Louisa in such a way.

Although Martin had gone to bed soon after Louisa had left for the service, he couldn't sleep, not until she was back. He hated being in bed on his own now. He also worried about her, it was cold and icy out, so he would be a lot happier when she was back safely.

Eventually he heard the car pull up on their drive, doors opening, muffled voices and then her key opening the front door.

Louisa came upstairs, first going into Luke's room to check on him as she always did, smiling as she saw Luke clutching his favourite teddy bear that Martin had given him, and then slipping into their room quietly, not wanting to wake Martin if he was asleep.

He turned over in bed and grunted "How was it?" at her.

"Sorry, didn't meant to wake you, it was good, thanks. I'll just be a minute," she said as she disappeared into their en suite bathroom and quickly completed her ablutions.

Now wearing her loose pyjamas that accommodated her bump, Louisa climbed into their bed.

"Brrr, it's freezing out there, but the frost makes everything look very sparkly and pretty, very Christmassy," she told him.

"Come here, you need warming up," he said, as he pulled her to him and put his hand on her belly to feel their baby, as he did every night.

Louisa moved his hand over to the right place so that he could feel the baby kicking.

"Maybe next year you'll come too Martin, I'm sure you'd enjoy the music if nothing else. The baby certainly did, it's been really active and kicking all through the service. Maybe next year Joan could come and sleep over on Christmas Eve to babysit if she didn't mind, then she'd be here for Christmas morning," Louisa suggested.

"Hmm. Maybe. We'll see." Martin wasn't convinced. He hated going to bed on his own though, and he didn't like Louisa being out, especially with all her work colleagues, but he knew that he wouldn't have fitted in or felt comfortable with them. He was happiest when they were on their own, with Luke or with Joan, but best of all he loved it when they were in bed together, cuddled up as they were now.

Louisa had put some of the beautiful flowers that he had sent her in their bedroom, and looking over at them now, Louisa asked Martin,

"You do remember then, our first time…you know…. together in bed, at White Rose Cottage? I take it that's what you were referring to on the card with my flowers."

"Of course I do," Martin replied, relaxing now and settling down to sleep.

"I was slim and reasonably attractive back then, not huge and pregnant for the second time with stretch marks and saggy boobs," Louisa sighed. Back then she'd always felt that she had the power to seduce Martin. She knew that he was attracted to her even if he never said anything, she just sensed it by the way that he looked at her. But now, just as when she'd returned to the village at this same stage of pregnancy, she couldn't possibly see how Martin could find her in any way physically attractive.

"Mmm," Martin agreed, not really listening, all warm and sleepy now that Louisa was safely back and in bed with him.

"So you do think I'm fat and ugly then?" Louisa prodded him, horrified that he wasn't at least attempting to reassure her that he still found her attractive.

"What? I never said that, don't go putting words in my mouth Louisa! You're pregnant, not fat. Now it's late, you need your rest so let's get some sleep, you know how early Luke always wakes up," Martin told her as he settled down again.

"Happy Christmas Martin," Louisa sighed and kissed him gently on his cheek, realising that he wasn't listening properly because he was drifting off to sleep.

"Mmm. Happy Christmas," he mumbled, before starting to gently snore.

**xXx**

After enjoying another wonderful Christmas lunch, they turned their attentions to opening presents. Of course Luke was far more interested in all the discarded wrapping paper and boxes than any of his presents which included some Duplo bricks, and some lift out puzzles amongst other things. Louisa had compromised this year and they had bought joint presents from them for Luke and Joan, she felt that he had proved himself last year by giving gifts on his own. Joan was adamant that they weren't to buy her any expensive gifts, she felt that now she had agreed to let Martin replace her truck for her, that was present enough. They were due to go and look at some cars for her the week after Christmas. However she was delighted with the new cardigan and vouchers that she received from them.

As Luke had great fun creating chaos with all the paper and boxes, happily assisted by Joan, Martin and Louisa opened their presents to each other.

"Martin, where on earth….how did you…." Louisa said as she looked at her present from Martin. He could be so surprising at times. Where had he found such a beautiful antique brooch for her? It was a little silver rose with a small red ruby in the centre.

"I thought it would be a reminder of the red roses we both wore on our wedding day," Martin explained rather bashfully. He'd been pretty pleased when he'd spotted it in the antique shop in Truro that he'd been looking round while Louisa went to the lingerie shop.

"I just love it. It's perfect. Thank you," Louisa said as she kissed him.

Martin was pleased with her response, and turned his attention to opening his present from her. He found a book of Love Poems.

"Now I know that you're probably going to say that you don't like poetry Martin, but I just want you to keep an open mind, and read them, some of them are my favourites, so at least read the ones that I've marked hmm?"

Louisa had a gut feeling that deep down, very deep down maybe, Martin had a very sensitive soul that might appreciate poetry if he would only let it out. Of course she had no idea that he had once written poetry for Edith, and of course Martin was never going to admit that to her. She was gradually finding out that he had excelled at all subjects at school, not just the sciences. She'd discovered recently that he could converse reasonably well in French, German and Spanish, useful when dealing with the tourists that visited the village and then fell ill or had an accident.

"Well, I suppose if you really want me to, I'll try to read some of them," Martin said, not very enthusiastically. He hadn't looked at any poetry for years. He considered reading fiction to be a waste of time. The books and journals that he read were always medically related enabling him to add to his already encyclopaedic knowledge in all things medical.

"There is another present for you as well Martin, in case you absolutely hate the poetry book," Louisa said as she passed him another present.

This one was a new fountain pen. She knew that the one he was using at the moment had been leaking, and that he always preferred to use a proper fountain pen.

"It's the same make as your current one, so I hope that you'll get on with it alright," Louisa told him.

"Thank you. I shall try it out, but it certainly looks to be suitable," Martin replied, much happier with this present.

**xXx**

Later on in the evening, Martin went out to the kitchen to start preparing the evening buffet that they had planned. He found Louisa sitting with a jar of pickled red cabbage, eating it straight from the jar with a look of bliss on her face.

"What on earth are you doing? That's an accompaniment, it's not meant to be eaten on its own by the spoonful as you seem to be doing," he said, horrified.

"I just had a craving for it Martin. It's Joan's home made pickled red cabbage, it's so much nicer than shop bought," Louisa told him as she took another mouthful.

"Stop it! You shouldn't be eating it like that," he said, as he snatched the jar away from her.

"Why not Martin? You can't say it's full of empty calories, it's just cabbage and vinegar, don't be so mean," Louisa replied as she tried to snatch the jar back.

"It also has a lot of salt in it too, and high levels of sodium can lead to water retention and high blood pressure, not a good idea in your condition Louisa" Martin said, as he kept hold of the jar and firmly put the lid back on.

Joan had followed Martin into the kitchen, bringing Luke to put him in his high chair to have his tea. She overhead the conversation and said to Martin,

"Oh for goodness sake, let the poor girl indulge her craving, surely you've heard the expression '_A little of what you fancy does you good'_."

"A _little_ of what you fancy maybe, but not a whole jar full at a time," he replied rather pompously, before disappearing into the other room still carrying the jar.

"Don't worry Louisa, I've got another jar you can have," Joan told her with a smile when Martin was out of earshot.

"Thanks. Honestly, the way he's acting you'd think I was taking prohibited drugs or something. Sometimes having a doctor as your husband is a right pain, he always thinks he knows best," Louisa grumbled, looking round for something else to satisfy her craving.

"It's funny, when I was pregnant with Luke, I craved jelly babies, I had a really sweet tooth. This time I can't get enough of anything sharp, sour, or vinegary," she said, happily starting to eat a pickled onion.

"They say that cravings are just your body telling you what it needs when you're pregnant, I'm sure I've read that somewhere. No doubt Martin will say that it's just an old wives tale, and that it's rubbish, but I reckon those old wives knew a thing or to, so you eat a little of whatever you fancy my dear and don't listen to him," Joan told her.

"Well he won't want to come anywhere near me now I'm eating onions – serves him right, he'll just have to put up with my smelly breath, at least he'll be justified when he complains about my oral hygiene this time," Louisa said to Joan, and they chuckled together as Martin came back into the kitchen.

"What are you two up to – aren't you supposed to be giving Luke his tea," he pointed out. The women had been so busy chatting that they hadn't noticed that Luke had managed to reach over from his high chair and get hold of a bowl of trifle that Joan had made, and had been feeding himself by grabbing handfuls of it. He was now plastered in custard, jelly and sponge fingers. Never happier than when he had food, Luke now saw everyone looking at him, and gave a big happy grin.

"Mmm…nice…_mine_…." he told them, holding on to the bowl possessively in case they were going to take it away from him.

Louisa saw Martin eyeing up the jar of pickled onions she'd been eating from.

"Mmm….nice…._mine_…." she told him, also holding on to the jar possessively.

"I give up. Just don't come complaining to me when your blood pressure goes through the roof, or you've got fat fingers and ankles because of water retention," he lectured her.

"Don't worry, I won't," Louisa told him, going up to kiss him with a pickled onion in her mouth.

"That's disgusting Louisa!" Martin told her, wrinkling up his nose.

"Should've just let me have the pickled cabbage then, shouldn't you," Louisa joked back.

That night Louisa gave her teeth an extra thorough clean, and rinsed out several times with an extra strong mouthwash – she couldn't be that mean to Martin when he had after all tried very hard to make it a lovely Christmas for them. She cuddled up to him in bed as she knew he liked her to do.

"Sorry if I'm still smelly from the onions. But you have no idea how strong these cravings can be Martin, pregnancy does some very peculiar things to you that you can't control. Like getting all emotional and tearful during the church service, it was so embarrassing, but I just couldn't help it. Like becoming forgetful, not being able to remember where I'd parked my car, for goodness sake," Louisa explained to him.

"I'm only trying to look after you, it's my responsibility to help you to avoid any potential problems during your pregnancy, and ensure that our baby is born fit and healthy. At least you'll soon be going on your maternity leave. When you can rest more you'll find things a lot easier, that's what your body is telling you to do you know, to rest more," Martin replied. He still wished that Louisa had agreed to start her maternity leave now rather than at the end of February half term.

"Trouble is it's also telling me to eat pickled red cabbage, but you tell me I shouldn't listen to that, but that I _should_ listen when it's telling me to rest. It's all a bit confusing," Louisa pointed out, resisting the urge to tell him to stop fussing yet again.

"Well then just listen to what I tell you, I'm your husband, your doctor and your voice of reason and logic. That's the simple answer, don't you agree?" Martin told her.

"Whatever you say Martin. Of course you always know best," Louisa decided that it was easier let him believe that, while she simply carried on in her normal way.

Martin wasn't fooled for a minute, he knew that Louisa would never actually agree to just 'do as she was told' and that he would have to be as vigilant as ever in monitoring her health.

"You have enjoyed our Christmas Day haven't you? I know you always maintain that it's just an over rated commercialised day, but it's not like that here for us in our house is it?" Louisa asked him.

"No. I have to agree that we do have a very enjoyable, pleasant time, but I still believe that most of the trappings that a lot of people deem necessary for Christmas are simply tacky, commercial rubbish. You know that Pauline wanted to put up some tasteless flashing Santa monstrosity in the surgery, which of course I forbade her from doing, it was completely inappropriate," Martin told her.

"_You don't know the meaning of 'Season of Goodwill', I think you must be a very close relative of Scrooge," Pauline had told him when he'd ordered her to take it down._

"_This is a Medical Practice, not some cheap party supply shop," Martin had replied._

"_Don't you think it would cheer up your patients to have some decorations around the place?" Pauline had retorted._

"_They don't come here to be 'cheered up', they come here to see me for a medical consultation," Martin told her firmly as he strode into his surgery._

"_Still don't see why we can't brighten the place up a bit, but you're right, seeing you certainly wouldn't cheer anybody up," Pauline had muttered as she reluctantly put the flashing Santa away._

"_What did you say?" Martin demanded as he looked up from his desk._

"_I just said that you were right and I'm clearing up," Pauline shouted back from her desk, shooting a look that could kill towards him that he couldn't see from his desk. Miserable old bugger, heaven help Louisa having to spend Christmas with him. Maybe she slips something into his drink to lighten him up a bit, make him more bearable, she thought to herself._

"Well I've had a wonderful day, thank you for my brooch, I love it, you really are getting the hang of present giving now aren't you?" Louisa told him as she kissed his cheek, hoping that the onion smell wasn't too strong now.

"Glad you think so, I am trying anyway, don't suppose I'll always get it right though," Martin said.

"No, well, I'm not sure that I got it right with the poetry book I gave you, but promise me that you will read at least one or two of them before you throw it out Martin," Louisa asked him. She'd seen the look on his face when he'd opened that present, and thought that she'd gone a step too far with him on that one. '_Oh well, can't win them all'_, she thought to herself.

"I promised I would, so I will," Martin assured her. '_Don't know when I'll actually get round to it though, can't see the point of any poetry, never mind love poems'_he thought to himself.

With that they both settled down to sleep, looking forward to enjoying the rest of the Christmas holidays together.


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of****Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**The Name Game - Chapter 32**

One evening after they had put Luke to bed, Louisa handed Martin a book.

"What's this?" he asked, looking at it.

"Baby Names. We really should start getting some ideas. You like researching things, so you can make this your next project Martin," Louisa suggested. She was very curious to see what names he would choose. Her guess was that he would go for the traditional names, nothing too wacky or 'out there'. Actually she felt much the same herself. As a school teacher, she had seen names come and go in fads, but the traditional names stood the test of time in her opinion. It was all very well naming your child after your favourite actor or pop group member, but a few years down the line when they were a 'has been', checking into rehab for their drug addiction, the name didn't seem so glamorous then.

"Well, I don't know, can't you come up with some suggestions, like you did with Luke, you did very well with that choice," Martin pleaded. He'd liked the name as soon as Louisa had suggested it. It was a good strong traditional boy's name that couldn't really be messed around with, and he couldn't remember anyone with that name that he'd disliked in the past. Being the patron saint of Doctors was an interesting link, and now that he knew Louisa better he realised that it was typical of her to have researched and found out that fact. He supposed that explained why there were a fair number of St. Luke hospitals and medical schools.

"I do have a shortlist of boys and girls names from last time, one that I compiled before Luke was born. I wasn't sure which one would be right until he was born. When he arrived, Luke just seemed to suit him perfectly to me, and luckily you agreed. Whatever his first name, his middle name was always going to be Martin if it was a boy, to keep a link with his father," Louisa explained. Choosing names had been a way of passing lonely evenings, but it had been very sad completing it on her own. So now she was looking forward to Martin's input.

"Well I suppose I could look through your book and see if any names jump out at me," Martin agreed. He hadn't got a clue what to choose, but it wouldn't be anything like some of the ridiculous made up names some people seemed to want to saddle their children with these days.

Ever diligent and efficient, Martin spent some time reading through the name book, and made it his latest project as Louisa had suggested. A few days later, she asked him,

"How's your research coming along for our baby's name? Have you come up with a list yet?" She was dying with curiosity to see what he would come up with, she just hoped it wouldn't be anything too awful that she would have to try to tactfully put him off. But she really wanted him to be involved in the choice this time.

"I'm working on it, I've a way to go yet, so many to choose from, but I'm getting there. Actually it's far easier picking out names that I definitely wouldn't choose, which I suppose narrows the choice anyway," Martin explained.

"So what names have you ruled out then?" Louisa enquired, wondering if there were any from the names she had on her short list.

'Thomas – gets shortened to Tommy, Tommy's Taxis, so that's a 'no'," Martin told her.

"Fair point I suppose," Louisa reluctantly agreed. She really liked the name, but knew how deeply upset Martin had been by the crash in Tommy's taxi.

"Daniel – no further explanation needed I think as to why that's a 'no'," Martin carried on.

"OK." Louisa accepted his feelings on that one.

"James – gets shortened to Jim or Jimmy, I don't need reminding of the late great Doctor Jim Sim, my predecessor, or of Pauline's Uncle Jimmy," Martin told her firmly.

"Oh, shame," Louisa mentally crossed that one off her list.

"And absolutely no chance of anything to do with the names Christopher, or Terence," Martin told her adamantly.

"Right, I see." She wasn't that keen on either of them anyhow.

"Edward is an absolute no no, Joan had that… that….thing with the decorator chappie." Memories of walking in on Joan…with him.. on the kitchen table, he still shuddered at the thought of it. "And Eddie Rix, patient of mine, so that's another reason why Edward is a 'no'."

Another shudder went through him as he recalled the image that had greeted his eyes when he'd opened the curtains in their bedroom to behold Eddie…all strapped and chained up in his sadomasochistic harness.

"Edward's definitely out then," Louisa accepted. She didn't know about Eddie's secret life but could see by Martin's expression that something had upset him.

"And John is another 'no'. That chap John Slater thought he could sail back into Joan's life and upset her, and then there's Johnny Bamford, smarmy git, so not John."

"OK Martin, I get the message," Louisa said.

"And not Mark or Joseph, fruitcakes the pair of them," Martin stated.

"That's a bit harsh, but OK," Louisa agreed.

"Adrian, don't suppose you remember that young arse of a doctor who told the village about my 'blood thing', but I hate that name," Martin added.

"Right, sure," Louisa said.

"David, gets shortened to Dave, the name of the postman, I don't want my son named after him," Martin continued.

"Umm right," Louisa agreed.

"Ross, the life guard, complete tosser, so that name's out," Martin told her.

"And Theo – I wouldn't want to be reminded of that nasty little brat Theo Wenn for goodness sake." Martin added that name to his growing list.

"Well are there any names that you do actually like then? And what about girls names too?" Louisa asked him.

"I'm still working on it, I'm making progress." He hadn't even started on girls names yet, he was still working his way through the boys section. Meticulous and thorough, that was Martin.

"Well let me know when you finally come up with some names that pass muster with you Martin, but just bear in mind that we only have a few weeks left before we have to choose something," Louisa reminded him as she patted her bump, thinking that maybe she should have just given him a few suggestions of her own after all.

A few days later, Martin gave her an update.

"I've ruled out quite a few girls names now, would you like to hear what they are?" Martin offered helpfully. Louisa wondered why he couldn't just come up with a simple list as she'd asked him, but with a sigh told him,

"Sure, go ahead, what names have you ruled out then?"

"Edith, obviously," Martin started with.

"Agreed," Louisa instantly answered.

"Elaine or Pauline, also for obvious reasons," Martin added.

"Yep," agreed Louisa.

"Melanie – young patient who developed a crush on me, so that's a 'no'," Martin continued.

"Really! Do tell, Martin, I had no idea," Louisa enquired, intrigued.

"Patient confidentiality. Can't say any more," Martin replied brusquely.

"Oh, I see." Louisa thought she would have to find out more about this at some point. Martin could be a bit of a dark horse sometimes.

"Alison or Delph, conjures up pictures of obesity for me I'm afraid," Martin confided.

"Shame, but OK," Louisa accepted.

"Beth or Janet, reminds me of the mad sisters up on the Moors," Martin added.

"Mmmh yes they are rather odd, so I wouldn't want those names either," Louisa agreed.

"Holly or Caroline. I know they're friends of yours, but they're such bossy stroppy women, I wouldn't want to use their names," Martin told her.

"No, I agree," Louisa told him. Holly had been a snobby cow to her, and she associated Caroline with Carrie Wilson, her of the Wilson hotel that had tried it on with Martin. "So, are you any nearer to coming up with a short list of names that you _do_ like, so that we can compare notes hmm?"

"Very nearly. Another day or two should be enough I think," Martin told her.

**xXx**

Finally Martin told her that he had his lists ready. Louisa couldn't complain that he hadn't given this task his utmost attention, he'd gone right through the book, cover to cover.

"Maybe you should start, tell me what was on your original shortlist, when you had Luke," Martin suggested.

"Ok, you can read the list for yourself if you like," Louisa said as she passed him her little notebook that she carried round to add names as she thought of them.

Martin read the first page with interest.

"Dominic. I was at school with a Dominic, he was the prefect who stuck my head down the toilets at school, part of the initiation rites," Martin coolly informed her.

"Good grief, guess that's a 'no' from you then," Louisa said, horrified. Luke had very nearly been Dominic.

"Alexander. My Father's middle name," Martin informed her.

"I had no idea. Cross that one out then," Louisa agreed.

"Simon. That's on my short list, so possible," Martin told her.

"Oh good, at last one that isn't a 'no'." Louisa was relieved.

"Philip, yes, Joan would be pleased about that, so a maybe again," Martin accepted.

"I thought she might like it," Louisa told him.

"Adam. Pauline's brother with the perforated septum and subsequent loud snoring problem. They squabbled like schoolchildren in my surgery, so no, not Adam."

"Oh, are you sure, I really like that name, but I suppose if you don't, it has to be a 'no'," Louisa reluctantly agreed.

"Harry. Hmm, not too bad I suppose, but I'm not so keen on Jack, he might get called Jacky or Jack the lad," Martin informed her.

"OK, so Harry makes it to our short list then," Louisa agreed.

"Robert – my old boss at Imperial's name, not really a connection that I want to be reminded of all the time actually. And it might get shortened to Bobby, like young Bobby Richards, so 'no' to that one," Martin told her.

"I see," said Louisa.

"Michael – could get shortened to Mick, reminds me of Mick Mabely that convict and thief who worked as a chef at Bert's for a while. So 'no' to that one," Martin explained.

"Right. OK," Louisa accepted with a sigh.

"Is that it for boy's names?" Martin was surprised.

"Well I had a few more, but you've already told me they're 'no', so I crossed them off. I had Thomas and James you see," Louisa explained.

"Ah right, well I have given you my reasons, I hope you can see the logic, they really wouldn't be suitable names when you analyse them Louisa, maybe you should have given it more thought, not been so impulsive in making your choices," he lectured her.

"Alright Martin, no need to get so high and mighty about it. So what's on _your_ short list for boy's names then?" Louisa asked him, a bit annoyed.

"I have compiled a spreadsheet, in order of preference. I have left a space for your comments by each one," Martin handed her his first spreadsheet.

Louisa took it, fascinated to see what he had finally come up with after spending so much time on it.

"Matthew. Nice name, but I've taught three Matthews recently and they've all been very naughty. Now I associate the name with difficult boys, I'm afraid," Louisa explained.

"Well our son wouldn't be like that, so I don't see the problem," Martin countered.

"Think Theo Wenn, Martin. The 'nasty little shit' association spoils the name, doesn't it?" Louisa reminded him.

"I suppose so," Martin reluctantly conceded.

"Andrew. My brother's name. I had considered it, but it makes me feel so sad thinking about him, it doesn't seem fair to land it on a poor little innocent baby. I just want to cry when I think about him…." Louisa did indeed look very sad.

"OK, OK, I'll rule that one out then," Martin quickly agreed.

"Peter. That brings to mind Peter Cronk. I know you saved his life years ago Martin, but have you seen him lately? He's a very spotty lad of about fifteen now, thinks he knows it all, he's giving his Mum quite a hard time at the moment. So it's a 'no' from me on Peter," Louisa told him firmly.

"Right. I see. Haven't had anything to do with him recently, so I didn't know that," Martin said. He was beginning to wonder if they would ever agree on more than a couple of names, with all their associations with pupils and patients. It was a miracle that they had agreed on 'Luke' instantly.

"Simon is next on your list, and I've got that one on mine, so that's a possible, and then you've got Richard."

"Yes, it was Joan's Uncle Richard, known as Dick, who left her the farm, well to her and Dad, which is where all the financial problems between them started," Martin explained.

"Well I like Richard, but I don't like the name 'Dick' for pretty obvious reasons," Louisa told him.

"What obvious reasons?" Martin asked.

"Oh for goodness sake Martin, surely even you know that it's used as a name to describe _that_ part of the male anatomy, or as a derogatory name, you know….. 'dickhead'. Surely you researched all the common nicknames as you've been so thorough?"

"It didn't occur to me, I'm sorry I'm not as used to thinking about playground humour as you obviously are," Martin retorted.

"Same goes for William I'm afraid. Even you must have blokes referring to their 'willy' in your surgery?"

"Ok, point taken, so we rule out Richard and William, although they were good enough for Kings of England," Martin said rather shirtily.

"Arthur. That's the name of the old boy who does our garden, have you forgotten? You really want to name our son after our gardener?" Louisa asked him.

"Ah right, no, I'd forgotten about him, you always deal with him after all. I just thought you might rather like the Cornish associations with the name," Martin explained.

"Timothy. My next door neighbours at White Rose Cottage had a dog that they called Timmy, so 'no' to that one," Louisa said.

"Ok, I can see that," Martin accepted, he hated dogs after all.

"Stephen. Yes I quite like Stephen, I might prefer the other spelling though, S-t-e-v-en," Louisa told him.

"Well that might encourage him to be called Steve, which I'm not so keen on," Martin pointed out.

"You can't stop people abbreviating names, even if you don't," Louisa reminded him. "I quite like your next one too, Nicholas, but I'm not so keen on Nicky or Nick, so same thing really, I suppose. Gosh this is getting quite difficult. Maybe we should be like the celebs, name him after the place he was conceived," Louisa suggested

"What do you mean?" Martin had no idea what she was talking about.

"You know, like Brooklyn Beckham, he was conceived in Brooklyn in America, so that's what they called him."

"Who the hell is Brooklyn Beckham?" Martin was still clueless.

"Son of the footballer David Beckham, you know, was the England captain, married Posh Spice, even you must have heard of them Martin. We could call our son Portwenn Ellingham," Louisa collapsed in a fit of giggles.

Martin looked at her as if she was mad. He found it very unhelpful when she started getting silly and giggling, he found no humour in the situation at all.

"We could call him Port for short, or Wenny." She carried on giggling despite Martin's black look at her.

"Hmmm. Perhaps we should move onto girls names. Here is my list," he suggested, holding it out and ignoring her stifled giggles.

Louisa looked at it. Sometimes she thought Martin had had a humour bypass, although he was quite capable of coming up with cutting witty remarks on occasions.

"Katherine – well Kate is pretty high on my list, so that's a possible then, that's a good start," Louisa told him.

"It was my Grandmother's name, Joan's mother, the one whose engagement ring you now have," Martin explained.

"Well that's a lovely connection, I like that," Louisa said. "And then you've got Emily, which I like, but I don't think it goes very well with Ellingham – Emily Ellingham is a bit of a mouthful don't you think?"

"Maybe, I suppose, Martin conceded.

"Sophie – pretty name, but spoiled for me as last term we had a Sophie at school who had permanent green snot hanging from her nose," Louisa told him.

"Should have got her to see me, sounds like a nasty sinus infection, I could have sorted her out," Martin responded.

"Olivia – yes, I rather like that, very pretty, that's a possible I think," said Louisa. "Is that it Martin, your list isn't very long"

"Well, I don't know much about girls names, I've never had much to do with girls after all," Martin told her.

"Well here's my list then," Louisa said as she passed him her notebook.

"Hannah, I suppose I don't mind that," Martin said.

"Good start," Louisa said happily.

"Georgina – unusual, but I don't hate it," Martin told her.

"My Grandmother's name – my Mum's mother. Mum hated it but I've always rather liked it," Louisa explained.

"Rose/Rosie/Roseanna – I'm assuming you can't decide which variant you prefer? Well I prefer Roseanna, but Rose for a shortened version could be acceptable I suppose, Martin said.

"Good," replied Louisa.

"Charlotte – yes I quite like that, and Jessica, I hadn't considered that either," Martin had not spent as much time on the girls section of the names book as the boys, it was pretty apparent.

"Well at least we have a few possibilities now Martin, maybe we'll just have to wait until this little one makes his or her arrival to make the final choice, just as I did with Luke," Louisa suggested.

"Yes, I think that is the best plan now, no good arguing over names that we may not even need to consider after all," Martin agreed.

Louisa had a sneaky feeling that although she'd made Martin promise not to find out what sex the baby was at their last scan, maybe he'd seen anyway, and although he wasn't telling her, he wasn't bothering to choose names for a daughter he knew they weren't having.


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of****Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Insomnia - Chapter 33**

Louisa was very busy in the last couple of weeks before she went on her maternity leave at the end of February, making sure that everything was up to date and organised. One evening she spent ages going over the budget figures for the school, trying to get everything to balance.

"I just can't get these ruddy figures to tally, I must be missing something, but I just can't see where," Louisa confessed. Normally she had no trouble with this spreadsheet, but tonight she just couldn't work out where it was going wrong.

"Would you like me to look over it for you? You're probably just tired and a fresh pair of eyes might spot the problem," Martin offered helpfully.

"Would you? If you don't mind, that'd be great, I'm fed up with looking at the wretched thing, I think my brain's turned to mush," Louisa said gratefully. Martin's meticulous nature meant that if he checked something over and said that it was fine, she knew that it was. So she happily handed the paperwork over to him.

After a few minutes scrutiny, he said,

"Look you've been counting that figure in twice, take that out and then everything balances," he showed her.

"Oh how annoying – why couldn't I see that, it's obvious! Thanks for that," Louisa told him happily.

"You're welcome. Now, come on, off to bed with you, time to get some rest," he nagged her, pleased that his help had been welcomed and appreciated.

Martin was very happy and relieved that she was about to start her maternity leave and so would be able to relax and rest more. He knew that she would no doubt still call into school most days when she took Luke to Nursery, and lectured her against getting sucked into too many things.

"It's time for you to rest now, prepare for the birth, not spend too much time at school. That's what the acting Head is for, why you've been training up ummm….your replacement," Martin pointed out, not being able to recall her name.

"Emma, you mean. Yes, I know Martin, I am going to rest, I'll only pop in if there's a query or something, that's all," she assured him.

"Hmmm," Martin replied, not convinced.

"Don't 'Hmmm' at me Martin. I'm not stupid you know, and actually I'm rather looking forward to taking it easy for a change, getting all the baby things down from the attic, sorting out the nursery, that kind of thing," she replied.

After Christmas they'd had the other bedroom decorated in very similar blue colours to the bedroom they'd used as a nursery for Luke, and had moved him into it well in advance of the new baby coming so that he was used to it. They had all their decorating done now by a retired decorator called Tony who lived in the village, he took on jobs now and again to supplement his pension. Tony was very reliable, honest as the day was long, and always worked to a high standard. He was good friends with Arthur, the old chap who looked after their garden for them. Louisa liked the fact that they were helping to support some of the other villagers by employing them around the house. Martin was just relieved that Louisa wasn't trying to do it all herself, so happily let her use them.

"Do you want me to re-decorate the nursery as well?" Tony asked.

"No, it was only done a short while ago, so I think it'll be fine," Louisa told him.

"But what if you have a little girl, the room is all blue, it's a proper little boys room," Tony pointed out.

"Well if it turns out to be a girl, then we'll have to call you back to re-decorate it, but in any case the baby will sleep in with us for the first few weeks," she informed him. Louisa was pretty sure that she was having another boy, in which case the blue décor would be fine.

She rather liked the idea of having two cheeky little boys getting into mischief together. Luke was certainly very cheeky, he had great fun 'helping' her when she sorted through all the baby things – he climbed into the Moses basket and the pram when she had them down on the floor to clean and sort out. Louisa couldn't believe now how tiny he'd been, he definitely took after Martin in his build, and was a big child for his age. She looked at the tiny vests and babygros in the newborn first size, and couldn't imagine him ever having fitted into them. She just hoped Luke would not be too put out or jealous of the new baby and was determined that they would do everything they could to make him feel happy and secure and not in any way threatened by the new arrival. That's where Martin would come in she felt, as long as he paid Luke lots of attention while she tended to the new baby, he would be happy because he adored his Daddy.

**xXx**

With just six weeks to go before their baby was due, Martin and Louisa sat together at her antenatal check up at the hospital. Martin listened as Charles Stewart went through all the details of Louisa's previous delivery. He was very thorough and wanted to have the full picture before advising her of the options this time around.

"I see that you were in a car accident last time just before you gave birth. Could you tell me exactly what happened?" Charles asked as he read through her notes with a frown.

"I was in a taxi travelling to my antenatal appointment here at the hospital when the driver became unwell and then lost consciousness. I tried to lean over from the back to grab the steering wheel, but I couldn't stop the car from crashing into a rock up on the moor. I couldn't phone for help because there was no signal up there, but luckily Martin came along a few minutes later," Louisa explained.

"So you were in the back of the car – were you wearing a seat belt at the time?" Charles asked.

"I had been, but then I undid it so that I could lean over to try to reach the steering wheel," Louisa told him.

"So at the moment of impact, were you thrown forward, did you collide with the seat in front of you?" he asked again, trying to ascertain from her notes if there had been any injuries caused by the crash. He was trying to work out if there was anything which could affect her labour and delivery this time - the notes were very brief.

"Yes, I was thrown against the seat in front of me," Louisa remembered the awful feeling of her bump hitting the seat in front.

"And when exactly did your waters break?"

Louisa looked over at Martin who was saying nothing at the moment, but had a pained expression on his face as he listened to the details of the crash. She knew that he was probably going to react badly to what she was going to say next. For a moment she considered telling a fib, but she didn't want to risk leaving out any information that might affect the birth of this baby. So she went ahead and replied,

"Well when I got out of the car after the crash, I checked on Tommy, the driver, but I couldn't wake him up, and then I realised that I could feel my waters starting to go…."Louisa explained.

"You never told me your waters had gone! You said….." Martin exclaimed as he realised what Louisa was saying.

"Yes Martin, I know what I said," Louisa interrupted him.

Martin remembered the terrible feeling of panic he'd experienced as he'd run up to the crashed taxi and not been able to see her, how he'd feared the worst, but then how she'd popped up from behind the car, telling him she'd been having a wee.

"But if you'd told me about your waters going, I'd have gone straight to the hospital with you, not messed about finding a pub for that selfish pig Tommy. You told me you were fine, why on earth didn't you tell me…." Martin insisted.

"Look we'll talk about all this later, now is not the time to go through all those details," Louisa told him, pleading with her eyes.

Charles sensed the potential for a nasty argument to develop, so he took control of the conversation by saying,

"Right, so it would seem a fair assessment of the facts to say that the impact of the crash caused your waters to break, thereby bringing on labour earlier than would otherwise have been the case. However it would seem that you didn't suffer any long term damage from the crash."

Martin took a deep breath to remain calm and keep a lid on his temper. He decided to wait until they were out of the office to get to the bottom of this, but he wanted some answers.

"That's correct, I was just a bit bruised and shaken up afterwards, that's all," Louisa agreed.

"But you had a very fast labour, as is sometimes the case when it has been brought on by a trauma. Therefore you gave birth before you could be taken to hospital," Charles said.

"Yes, in a pub. Luckily it was deserted, could have been a bit embarrassing otherwise. But everything turned out fine in the end, the paramedic who delivered the baby was great, and our son was born normal and healthy." Louisa said.

"Right well, I don't foresee any problems with your delivery this time around, but of course no one can predict for certain quite how things will go. I still want to keep a close eye on you, and I recommend that you make your way to hospital as soon as there are any indications that your labour has commenced as you live quite a distance away. You don't really want to give birth in a pub again, I take it?" Charles told her with a smile.

"No, but I have been wondering, do you really think I need to have this baby in hospital? I mean it is my second baby, everything was straight forward when I had Luke despite not being in hospital, and I'd have Martin looking after me. So couldn't I just book a home delivery with a midwife, then we wouldn't have to worry about getting me to hospital in time, not risk giving birth on the way. I really don't like being in hospital at all, you see," Louisa said.

Both men looked at her as if she were completely mad. Martin spoke first.

"Absolutely _not_ Louisa! How can you even be thinking along those lines! Miles away from hospital, what if something went wrong and you needed an emergency caesarean? You were extremely lucky last time, there were no immediate complications, but that doesn't mean it'll be the same this time round. You'd be putting yourself and the baby at risk, is that really what you want? No, the only sensible option is for you to have the baby in the safety of the hospital, and to ensure that you get to the hospital in good time by letting me know as soon as you have any indications that your labour has started," Martin told her in no uncertain terms.

"I'm afraid that I have to agree with Martin on this one Louisa. There is no question that it is much safer for you to have your baby in hospital. It is by far the most sensible option," Charles said as he looked over at Martin and raised his eyebrows in an unspoken gesture of solidarity.

Seeing this look pass between the two men, for a moment it felt as if they were ganging up on her. It reminded Louisa of her conversation with Molly O'Brien the midwife about '_male doctors wanting to be in control, who think that pregnancy is a disease, they just don't understand women_'. Louisa felt her hackles rise because of their smug attitude that they knew best – neither of them had ever given birth after all.

"Look, you won't need to stay in hospital very long at all if things are straight forward. We've been monitoring your iron levels very closely this time, and you are not anaemic, that was the only thing that prolonged your stay in hospital last time. But should any problems occur, believe me you'll be very grateful to be in the hospital, where there are all the facilities and experts on hand to save the life of your baby – or you," Charles told her in a conciliatory tone. He'd had years of practice dealing with highly vocal and assertive women.

Louisa sighed. Of course she didn't want to do anything to put the baby at risk, and so had to accept that this was one argument she wasn't going to win.

"Well, I shall only stay in hospital for the absolute bare minimum that I have to, I'm telling you that now," Louisa said determinedly.

"That's all we're asking, Louisa," Martin replied, relieved that she had at least accepted giving birth in hospital. For him there was no other option to even consider.

Once they'd left Charles' office, Martin turned to Louisa.

"Now can you please explain to me why on earth you didn't tell me that your waters had gone at the time of the accident? Why did you lie to me?" Martin demanded to know, furious and puzzled at her deception.

"Well if you recall, we weren't exactly on close terms at the time Martin. I assumed that we would be going to hospital with Tommy in any case, and that you would then continue on your way to London, so I thought I could get checked out then. When you said we needed to get Tommy to the nearest pub because he needed alcohol, I didn't have any contractions or anything at the time, so I still thought it would be OK, and that I could go to hospital after that."

"But I distinctly remember asking you if you were sure that you were OK, asking you to tell me if you had any pains or anything, so why didn't you say then? I would have headed straight to the hospital if you'd told me, and maybe then you wouldn't have had to give birth with no kind of pain relief, in a grubby pub." Martin was still angry and struggling to understand her secrecy.

"Don't you remember me asking what would happen to Tommy if he didn't get the alcohol he needed? You told me he could be blinded or even die, and I thought that sounded rather more urgent than me, when I had no symptoms of labour," Louisa told him angrily. At the time she'd believed that Martin had only come after them because he'd found out about Tommy's methanol poisoning, not that he'd come after her, he'd actually been on his way to London after all. Her stubborn pride had kicked in – she wasn't going to try to make him stay if he'd decided to leave, let him go to London if that's what he wanted to do, she'd thought.

"How could I make an accurate assessment to prioritise the medical situation if you didn't see fit to supply me with all the facts," Martin retorted.

"Well it's no good going over it all again now Martin. That was then, things are different now, and we can't change what happened," Louisa told him.

"OK, alright, point taken, but coming back to the present, what the hell were you thinking just now, talking about having a home birth for God's sake– are you completely mad, or just plain stupid?" Martin was still very angry, and wasn't in the mood to be try to be tactful with Louisa.

"I was just asking what was possible Martin, finding out about different options. Loads of women have home births, perfectly safely, and what about all the infections that you can pick up in hospital hmm? And it is _my_ body you know, it is _me_ who is going to have to go through labour and give birth. You may feel quite at home in the surrounds of a hospital but I don't, I hate them. Just the smell that hits you as you walk into any hospital makes me feel ill," Louisa told him with a shudder.

"Surely you want what's best for the baby? Putting up with a smell you don't like very much is surely a small price to pay to ensure a safe delivery with a healthy baby?" Martin told her.

"Yes, I know, that's why I've agreed to have the baby in hospital. You win, alright? So _Doctor_, can you just stop lecturing me now please?" Louisa told him, fed up with his attitude.

She stormed off towards the car park, leaving Martin to catch up with her. It was a very quiet drive back, and when he dropped her back at school to return to work, she didn't lean over and peck him on the cheek as she usually did, she simply got out of the car, shut the door very firmly and walked back into school without a backwards glance at him. Martin sighed as he drove off towards his surgery. He was even more bad tempered and grouchy than usual that afternoon – he hated it when things were unsettled between him and Louisa.

After a rather tense evening of not saying very much, when they were finally in bed together, Martin tried to smooth things over as best he could.

"Look I'm sorry I got angry today. It's just that I can't bear to think of you in that car accident, what could have happened, and how I very nearly lost you. And I hate the fact that you had to give birth in a grotty old pub in the middle of nowhere, when you could have been in hospital, with pain relief and everything available in case you needed it. That's what I want for you this time, the best possible care, I don't want to take _any_ chances, there are so many things that could go wrong."

Standing outside that pub, kicking his heels, hearing her in such pain and not being able to help her, not even being allowed to be in the same room as her had been torture for Martin. It had brought to the surface all his deepest feelings for her that he'd repressed, so very nearly losing her had forced him to face the fact that he couldn't live without her. He'd found that he simply had no option but to go back in and plead with her, tell her that he'd been wrong. He could hardly bear to think what his life would be like now if he hadn't seized that moment.

"That's the trouble though Martin, you always think the worst, you worry too much. Giving birth is perfectly natural and normal, women have been doing it since time began after all," Louisa told him.

"Yes, and women have been dying giving birth since time began too," he pointed out.

"Oh for goodness sake, lets not argue any more, I've agreed to have the baby in hospital, so that's an end to it. Just don't ever treat me as if I'm stupid and haven't got a mind of my own again," Louisa warned him.

Martin bit back the reply that sprang immediately to his mind '_I won't treat you as if you're stupid if you don't act as if you're stupid_' Even he realised that would just cause more arguments.

"Try and relax a bit more, stop thinking of every possible problem that could occur, it's going to be fine this time," Louisa reassured him as she cuddled up.

"It's my responsibility to prepare for every eventuality. I can't bear to think of anything happening to you Louisa. Seeing the crashed taxi, not knowing if you were alright…you have no idea how terrible that felt," Martin told her.

"Well it all turned out alright in the end, didn't it? Luke was a fine healthy boy, and even Tommy and Tasha made a full recovery thanks to you," Louisa reminded him. Tommy had had to give up his taxi business after the crash, his reputation had suffered when people heard what had happened. So now he'd opened up a little shop selling gifts and knick knacks for the tourists – a shop full of tacky rubbish as far as Martin was concerned, he had no idea why anyone would want to buy such dross.

"Thankfully yes," Martin agreed. In an effort to lighten the mood, because he really did hate arguing with Louisa, he said to her,

"Now where's my kiss?"

"What kiss?" Louisa asked him.

"The one that you didn't give me when I dropped you off at work. You always give me a kiss goodbye, and I didn't like it today when you didn't."

"Martin Ellingham! You big old softie! I didn't think you noticed things like that," Louisa told him.

"Of course I notice. I like being kissed by you. A lot actually," Martin replied.

When it was just the two of them alone together, cuddled up in bed as they were now, he felt confident enough to say things like this to her, things that he would never say in public, in front of other people.

Louisa now gently kissed first one side of his face, and then the other.

"Is that better?" she asked softly.

"Getting better," Martin told her, pulling her even closer to him as she gave him another kiss on his lips.

**xXx**

Going over all the events surrounding Luke's birth brought some questions to mind for Louisa. So the following morning she asked Martin,

"When Luke was born, you know, at the pub, what exactly did you mean when you burst in and said that you were wrong, about me, about leaving, about everything?" Louisa had turned this over in her mind many times, thinking she understood what he meant, but never really certain if she was right.

"You know what I meant. I didn't go to London, I changed my mind," Martin told her.

"Yes but '_wrong about me'_, what exactly did you mean when you said that?" Louisa persisted.

Martin sighed. He knew from experience that Louisa wouldn't rest until she got some sort of explanation from him.

"No doubt you recall that when we called our Wedding off, I said that I wouldn't make you happy, and then I said that you wouldn't make me happy either?" Martin asked her.

"Yes, of course I remember, how could I forget?" Louisa replied. She'd gone over and over those words in her mind many times when she'd been on her own in London, wondering what she should do, should she contact Martin, maybe she'd made a big mistake in leaving, then always coming to the same conclusion - it was pointless, he didn't want her, that was what he'd been saying, and he most certainly wouldn't want a baby.

"Well, I finally realised after all those months without you that you were the only thing that _would_ make me happy. I know it took a while and nearly losing you in a car crash for me to realise, but eventually I did," Martin said.

"Right good. That's what I thought, but I needed to be sure, and now I am, so that's all cleared that up. Thanks" Louisa smiled to herself. Another little piece of the puzzle that was Martin had fallen into place for her.

**xXx**

Due to her increasing girth, Louisa was finding it difficult to get comfortable at night, so she wasn't sleeping very well. At least now she could put her feet up during the day if she felt tired. She tried using various specially shaped pillows, but they only helped for a short while.

When she complained of bad backache one evening, Martin instructed her to lie on the bed so that he could examine her and make sure that there was nothing more seriously wrong.

"Just lie on your side while I check your lower back. During pregnancy your ligaments become looser and softer in preparation for labour, and this puts a strain on the joints of your lower back and pelvis," Martin explained. As he felt around her back at the base of her spine, Louisa told him,

"Umm that feels rather nice, can you do that some more please?"

"Oh right, like this, does that feel better?" Martin asked as he massaged her gently, happy to do anything that eased her discomfort. He conveniently forgot how he'd sneered and been dismissive about rubbing a pregnant woman's back to the midwife that time in his surgery. He'd actually been covering up the fact that he was very frustrated at having to admit that Louisa wasn't his patient and not being allowed to be involved in her care in any way.

"Mmm, that's wonderful Martin, you really do have healing hands," Louisa murmured appreciatively. She discovered that Martin was rather good at giving massages.

So now Martin happily massaged her back for her most evenings, using some relaxing scented oil that Louisa obtained to make the experience even more pleasurable for her, it really eased her backache. Martin thought that this was an area worthy of further investigation in the future as he found it very pleasurable too.

xXx

One night in bed when she couldn't sleep again, and her mind was still very active, Louisa asked Martin,

"Do you remember that time when we drank wine together?"

"Mmm no, not really. I passed out if you recall," Martin replied as he tried to get to sleep.

"Yes, but if you hadn't passed out….." Louisa said.

"But I did," Martin said.

"Yes, but if you hadn't, I would have stayed the night with you, you know. I was pretty keen, well that is until you accused me of stalking you. What was your problem with me? I began to wonder if you had…problems, you know that you couldn't…" Louisa questioned him.

"What do you mean, that I couldn't what?" Martin wanted to know, awake now.

"That you couldn't actually….manage to….." Louisa tried to explain.

"Are you saying that you thought I was impotent?" Martin asked her, shocked.

"Well I did begin to wonder, because whenever we made a little progress in getting to know each other, you always seemed to sabotage things, so I couldn't help but wonder if it was to cover up a lack of ….ability. In my experience most men are only too keen to get you into bed if you give them the slightest encouragement," Louisa told him.

"Oh really, well I'm not 'most men', I am able to keep my head out of the gutter. So you've had to fight off hoards of other men have you?" Martin asked, hating the thought of other men trying to bed Louisa.

"Oh well, you know what it's like at college, the more you say 'no', the more of a challenge the boys see you as," Louisa said breezily, not wanting to go into any details of her long distant past. She'd had some pretty disastrous relationships over the years which had affected her confidence and made her very distrustful of men, especially ones that could charm the birds out of the trees with their flattering ways. That was what had attracted her to Martin in the first place, because he was so different – he simply didn't know how to flatter, but his brutal honesty had also caused a lot of their problems.

"So you did say no then?" Martin couldn't help asking.

"Of course I did," Louisa replied, not wanting to elaborate too much, knowing how jealous Martin could be.

"Anyhow, it was quite a relief to eventually find out that you were…adequate, shall we say, in the bedroom, that first time in my cottage," Louisa teased him.

"Adequate. Is that how you recall that night then?" Martin asked, rather hurt. He would have rated it as 'amazing', although he had never actually said as much to her.

"Well, 'adequate' is a favourite description of yours isn't it? You've never exactly been one to go overboard with praise. But I must say, it did come as rather a shock to find out just how 'adequate' you'd been when I discovered I was pregnant," Louisa told him with a wry smile on her face.

"It wasn't just me Louisa, it takes two to make a baby after all," he replied defensively. He still had echoes in his mind of his old fashioned traditional upbringing, thinking of how he'd got a girl 'in trouble' had made him feel very guilty.

"Yes, I know, but what are the odds at our ages, the first time we ever…I get pregnant, even using a condom, albeit an out of date one. You must have very determined little…" Louisa said.

"Yes well, I've always maintained a healthy diet and lifestyle, obviously with a resultant healthy sperm production it would seem. I can appreciate that finding out that you were pregnant must have been one hell of a shock for you, I just wish you'd contacted me. I wouldn't have pressurised you to have an abortion Louisa. I know that's what you assumed, and naturally I would have talked that option through with you, but I would have respected your decision, and I would have supported you if you'd just let me," Martin told her.

"I know that now, but I was rather confused at the time," Louisa replied.

"So what were you hoping for, when you came back to the village, when you came to see me?" Martin asked, curious now that Louisa had brought all this up.

"I'm not really sure, if I'm honest, but that we could at least be friends I suppose. I never expected you to be over the moon about the pregnancy because I knew a baby had never figured in any of your plans for the future," Louisa told him.

"So you weren't hoping for us to get back together then?" Martin asked, rather disappointed.

"Certainly not when I saw bloody Edith with her feet under your table, looking very much at home. I couldn't believe how quickly you'd replaced me, after all the years it took us to get together too," Louisa told him. She'd felt incredibly hurt by that.

"But I wasn't with her, she hadn't replaced you, she never could, you know that now," Martin replied.

"Well all I can say is that wasn't how it looked to me on that day, so I decided to leave you to it with Edith, I wasn't going to push in where I clearly wasn't wanted. But that's all in the past now, everything is lovely now, isn't it?" Louisa told him, happily feeling his arms around her as best he could with her very large belly.

"Yes, I'd certainly concur with that," Martin said yawning. "Now, can I get some sleep?"

xXx

Yet another time when Louisa couldn't sleep, she brought up the subject of the concert that they had been to together.

"Why did you have to spoil such a romantic evening hmmm Martin? I was even going to ask you to stay the night if you had wanted to, I was kind of testing the water, giving you a very strong hint when I pulled you into the bushes and started kissing you, but you didn't pick up on that did you? Oh no, banging on about urine like smells, just like banging on about dental hygiene the first time we kissed. All things considered it's a miracle we ever got together isn't it?"

"If you say so. I've never been very good about picking up feminine signals, I was just making perfectly logical observations, that was all. Maybe you were a touch over sensitive about things anyway. The main thing is we are together now. Look, if I don't get some sleep, I'm going to be even more bad tempered tomorrow at work than usual, and then it'll be your fault if Pauline walks out on me," Martin told her as he rolled over and tried to get to sleep. Nervous as he was about the impending birth, perhaps once the baby was here and keeping Louisa fully occupied she would stop these little episodes of raking over the past and demanding explanations for all his past misdemeanours.


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin is the property of****Buffalo Pictures. I own nothing except my imagination.**

**Chapter 34 - Stork Approaching …..Prepare The Gooseberry Bush**

Martin was driving Louisa nutty. With just over two weeks to go until her due date, she was at the same stage of pregnancy that she'd been when she'd had Luke. Martin was extremely nervous and on edge because he was worried about getting Louisa to hospital in time once she went into labour, so he kept asking her if she was sure that she was alright, did she have any niggling pains, was her backache any worse as that could be a sign of early labour etc etc. He checked her blood pressure regularly too, and almost seemed disappointed when it was normal, Louisa felt that maybe he was looking for an excuse to get her to hospital anyway.

"Martin, for goodness sake, when the time comes believe me you will be the first to know, but for now stop questioning me all the time," she finally told him. If he didn't back off a little she felt she was going to scream at him.

Joan wasn't much better either. She usually called in most days anyhow, but recently she'd been popping in both in the morning and the afternoon on various pretexts. Louisa suspected that she was under instruction from Martin to keep an eye on her while he was at the surgery.

"I can collect Luke from Nursery for you if you like, save you having to push the buggy back up that steep hill. It's not so bad for you in the morning when it's downhill," Joan offered helpfully.

"That's very kind of you Joan, maybe I'll take you up on the offer next week, but for now I like getting out and having some fresh air. I just take it nice and easy walking back up," Louisa responded.

"Right, well, if you change your mind…." Joan told her. She was very excited about the new baby coming, she remembered how wonderful it had been the first time she'd held Luke as a new born baby, but she knew that she would be needed to look after Luke, spend time with him so that he didn't get too jealous of the new baby, which was fine with her, because it was what she loved to do anyway.

Now that she'd finally accepted some financial help from Martin, she could relax a little more knowing that all her bills were covered each month. The pressure was off with regard to growing her crops, she could just concentrate on the ones that she enjoyed growing, that didn't demand too much of her time. After Christmas she and Martin had gone out looking at new cars for her. She refused point blank to let him buy a brand new car for her when she saw how much the estate models that would suit her were, but they had compromised when they'd found one that was only just over a year old and with very low mileage, it was a much more reasonable price – although Joan still winced at the figure. However, because not that many people could afford to buy new cars due to the recession, Martin had been able to thrash out a good deal with the garage that was selling it.

Now Joan loved driving her new car. It had a heater that actually worked which was wonderful during the winter – in fact everything in it worked properly, and if it didn't, she could take it back to the garage to fix it under guarantee. She also had her own car seat for Luke in the back, meaning that she could easily transport him if required. So she was determined that she would help out in any way that she could for Martin and Louisa in return for all the help that they had given her.

xXx

"Wretched April showers," Louisa thought to herself as she slowly walked down the hill from their house. She was on her way to White Rose Cottage. The last tenants had moved out, and before the next lot moved in, she wanted to check out a few things that had been highlighted by the letting agent as needing attention. She thought she could use the time in the afternoon before she collected Luke from Nursery.

However, it was now beginning to rain quite heavily, so she decided that she might as well call into Martin's surgery to avoid getting soaked. She'd forgotten her umbrella, but these showers usually passed quite quickly, so she shouldn't have to wait long. She wasn't sure if the back door would be open – when Martin was busy in surgery he tended to lock the back to make sure that no one could just wander in, so she went in through the front entrance.

As she walked into the waiting room, all eyes turned to her. At eight and a half months pregnant she was a subject of great interest.

"Ooh, Mrs Ellingham, I'll just get the Doc for you, is it…you know….has your time come?" Pauline asked, quickly reaching for the phone to call through to Martin. She knew that he'd hit the roof if she didn't tell him straight away, he was very jumpy, telling her every morning, and again in the afternoon, that if his wife rang she was to tell him _immediately._

"No, Pauline, don't bother him, there's no emergency, I'm just dodging the rain. I'll head into the kitchen, and get out of the way," Louisa said.

As she walked through the waiting room, she could feel everyone's eyes on her – well on her huge belly anyhow.

"Not long now then my dear," said Mrs Poustie, patting Louisa's bump. Why everyone felt it necessary to touch her bump, she had no idea, but they did, as if it was public property.

"Still a couple of weeks to go yet," Louisa replied with a strained smile.

"Could be early though, all of mine were early," Mrs Batty joined in, nodding knowingly.

"Yes, she's got that look about her, hasn't she?" Mrs Northcott agreed, as if Louisa wasn't there.

Louisa began to feel some sympathy for Martin's view that the villagers could be annoying.

As Louisa disappeared towards the kitchen, Pauline decided to tell Martin about her presence anyway – she didn't want to feel the rough edge of his tongue, he was obviously very concerned about Louisa and when she was going to go into labour.

"What? I'm busy," Martin answered the call. He had the locum with him who was going to stand in while he was off after the baby came. Doctor Teresa Mason seemed reasonably competent, and by having a decent handover Martin hoped that maybe he wouldn't have a disaster zone to return to. She was a middle aged woman with many years of locum experience as she enjoyed the variety of covering different surgeries. She had a no nonsense manner about her, which Martin rather approved of.

"I just thought that you'd like to know that your wife is here, that's all," Pauline told him tetchily.

"Why, what's the matter, did she say…" Martin was suddenly all attention, ignoring the patient he was with. Mr Armstrong was here for his very boring routine check up, so he didn't mind the interruption at all. In fact he was all ears listening to the conversation, trying to glean some juicy gossip.

"She said there's no emergency, she's just come in out of the rain that's all, so she's made her way to the kitchen," Pauline explained.

"Ah right. Good." Martin replied. He turned to Doctor Mason.

"Are you alright to carry on, I should just check that my wife…" he explained.

"You go right ahead, I'll be fine here," she replied, actually relieved to be allowed to get on with some doctoring by herself. She'd been warned about Martin Ellingham, brilliant doctor but not the easiest person to get on with.

Martin strode out and into the kitchen. He caught his breath as he looked at Louisa, still so beautiful even at this stage of pregnancy. He knew that Louisa thought that he was being overprotective, but he just couldn't help worrying about her, he was worried about her giving birth, worried about ensuring that she got to hospital in good time.

"Is err, everything alright?" he asked her.

"Everything is fine Martin, I'm just waiting for the shower to pass, then I'm going up to White Rose Cottage to see what the letting agent is on about with that list of problems he sent me," Louisa told him.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? It's a steep walk, and you shouldn't overdo things, you should be resting, your labour could start at any time now," Martin fussed.

"I'm just going for a slow walk – or rather a slow waddle. I thought I'd check out what needs doing before I collect Luke from Nursery, that's all Martin. Nothing's going to happen just yet, I think if anything this baby will be late not early. It was only the car accident last time that made Luke come early, you know that," Louisa reassured him.

Truthfully she was getting rather bored at home. Emma was coping brilliantly in her role as Acting Head at the school, so didn't need much help from Louisa. She'd got the baby's room ready as far as she could, and had washed all the baby items. She'd packed her bag ready to take into hospital with her. Her nesting instinct had well and truly kicked in and she'd spring cleaned virtually the whole house, Also, not sleeping very well at night had given her time to reflect on a lot of things from the past, and it had made her curious to look around White Rose Cottage again.

"You will tell me won't you, I mean if you have any twinges or anything, not like last time…" Martin fretted.

"Of course I will," Louisa assured him.

"And you do have your mobile phone with you, and it is charged up, just in case you need to contact me?" Martin asked.

"Yes, I have it right here in my pocket. Now, shouldn't you get back to your patients rather than gossip idly with your wife hmm?" Louisa asked him.

"It's alright, the locum doctor is dealing with them," Martin explained.

"Oh yes, what's she like, how's she getting on?" Louisa asked.

"Seems adequate. Female patients seem to like her anyhow. I've told her not to pander to them or she'll find that her consultation times will shoot through the roof and she'll never get through the list," Martin replied.

"Ah right, well I'm sure she'll take on board all your helpful tips." Louisa felt a bit sorry for the locum, she could well imagine how controlling Martin could be, he was so conscientious about his job, and about his patients that he professed to dislike so much, that he was no doubt finding it very hard to hand everything over to someone else. Chris Parsons had assured him that Doctor Mason came very highly recommended, and was also pretty flexible with regard to dates, which was handy as they didn't know exactly when this baby was going to make its appearance. Martin was planning to take off two weeks after the birth.

"Look, it seems to have stopped raining now, so I'll be on my way. I think I'll leave by the back door rather than brave your very full waiting room again, I seem to be a topic of great interest to your patients," Louisa said.

"Yes, it would seem that a large number of villagers have nothing better to do than infest my surgery and indulge in gawping and gossiping," Martin agreed, as he went over to the back door with Louisa to see her out. He'd been subjected to a barrage of questions from nearly all his patients recently about the impending arrival of their baby.

Pauline was just walking towards the kitchen when she saw Louisa stretch up to kiss Martin on his cheek. She was surprised to see Martin reach for Louisa to return the kiss, the soft expression on his face and the clear look of love for her in his eyes catching Pauline by surprise. But as soon as he was aware of Pauline's presence, he pulled back, cleared his throat and opened the door for Louisa.

"Yes, now just make sure that you don't overdue things, give me a call if there are any…developments, otherwise I'll see you back at home," he said as Louisa left. His face was now wearing his usual stern expression, but Pauline had caught a glimpse of the Martin that usually only Louisa saw.

xXx

Louisa let herself into White Rose Cottage. She stood in the entrance area and slowly looked round. She'd let it out fully furnished when she'd left for London, it had all been very hastily arranged and it had been the simplest solution. She'd convinced herself that it was about time that she tried pastures new, thinking that Holly was right, it was claustrophobic here in the village, so maybe she should try out some new challenges in London. But in reality she'd simply been running away, unable to face everyone after the non Wedding, but most of all unable to face the thought of bumping into Martin on a regular basis.

So now she looked around, seeing her familiar pieces of furniture. Most of her small personal items had been stored away in the attic, quickly boxed up and put there before she left. She'd managed to retrieve these items between tenants, and now some of these things, such as her pictures, were hung in their house – White Rose _House._

She looked fondly at her white grandfather clock and then at one of her rocking chairs which she'd forgotten about. She tried it out and thought that maybe she'd ask Martin to bring it up to their house, it was very comfortable and might be nice to sit in to nurse the baby. Then she stepped down into the kitchen, which seemed to be in reasonable condition, the letting agent had said that the oven wasn't working properly, which she was surprised about as it wasn't that old. She thought that it might well be a problem with the electrics again, this old cottage had always been a bit quirky as far as wiring was concerned. An electrician would have to be called in to have a look at it.

She stepped down again into the living area, looked round and then made her way out to the patio with its fantastic views across the harbour, and of Martin's surgery. She opened the doors and felt the fresh sea air sweep through her hair. She loved it out here, in fact she loved her little cottage, it had always felt so welcoming to her, and even today it didn't fail, she'd felt a warm rush as soon as she'd stepped through the door. She was glad that she hadn't had to sell it to help pay for their house now, she really appreciated the fact that Martin was in a financial position to complete the sale anyway, and he'd been right that it was a good investment to continue renting it out. She never had any trouble getting tenants for it as available property was so scarce in the village. The income it generated more than covered the mortgage and other expenses, leaving her with some extra income from it. Why Martin's father had been so scathing about Martin's financial skills she had no idea, because he was actually very astute, but then his father didn't really know Martin at all.

Standing out on the patio, Louisa remembered the times that she'd been out here with Martin. Although he'd never exactly said so, she was pretty sure that he'd always felt relaxed and comfortable in her cottage, despite having to mind his head on some of the beams.

She remembered fondly the time they'd been out here on the patio just after Martin had asked her to marry him. They'd been discussing their wedding, and she'd him told how the vicar had had a cancellation for three weeks time, fully expecting him to think that was far too soon for them to get married. But he hadn't, he was of the same mind as her - why wait, they wanted to get married, so just get on with it. He'd seemed surprised that she also felt that way, in fact surprised in general that she had agreed to marry him – he didn't seem to realise that she'd wanted it, dreamt of it, for so, so long.

Then he'd leant in to kiss her. A kiss that _he_ initiated, his confidence growing now that he understood that she _really_wanted to marry him. It started as a soft gentle little kiss which he broke away from to gaze at her, then he'd started kissing her again but more intently now, and Louisa found herself stretching up to him, wanting and encouraging it to develop into something more…..and then his blasted phone had rung. He had actually hesitated for a few seconds before answering it, and Louisa found herself saying,

"I don't suppose you could just ignore it, could you?" But of course, ever the professional doctor, he'd felt obliged to answer it, ending any further romantic prospects for that evening as he'd left to attend his patient. It had been like that for them on so many occasions unfortunately.

Sighing at the memory, Louisa made her way back indoors, and slowly climbed the steep narrow wooden stairs to the bedroom and bathroom.

She stood and smiled to herself as she looked in her bedroom. The room where they'd finally lost their inhibitions together. The room where Martin had completely surprised her by being such a wonderful lover. The room where Luke had been conceived.

She went over and sat on the edge of the bed, and slowly ran her hand over it. He'd been pretty amazing in bed, she'd never expected him to be so commanding, so passionate, and yet so thoughtful a lover. She'd expected him to be shy and awkward as he was in everyday life. It had been so exciting, so thrilling an experience, like nothing she'd experienced before. Somewhere along the line in his past he'd acquired some pretty impressive skills. She'd never let herself dwell on how exactly he'd learnt those skills, but knowing what she did about Edith now, it was pretty obvious. She shuddered and steeled herself to stop having those thoughts. They both had history before they met and it was no good worrying about any of that now.

She also remembered with a slight smile that although they had not felt any awkwardness in the heat of the moment whilst making love, afterwards had been a rather different story. She'd felt very shy about being naked in front of him. He might be used to seeing his patients undressed, but this was completely different, so in the morning she'd kept herself covered up while she'd reached out for her dressing gown to slip on. And as for seeing _him_naked – well she had to admit that she'd been very curious to check him out properly because she'd been pretty impressed by how well endowed he'd seemed…..but he'd already been dressed when she woke up in the morning, and she'd had to wait until the next time to see him in his full glory again.

Looking at her watch and realising the time, Louisa jumped up telling herself,

'_Well, this has been a lovely trip down memory lane, but now I need to get on, not long until I need to collect Luke."_

With that she quickly checked the patch of mould that the agent had told her about in the corner of the bathroom. Of course if the tenants remembered to open the window after their shower or bath, it wouldn't get like that, she thought rather crossly, but it would be fairly easy to get sorted, it was nothing major.

As she made her way down the stairs, her mobile phone started to ring. She let go of the stair rail to fumble in her pocket to answer it.

"Hello Martin, let me guess you're ringing to…" she never got to finish the sentence because she lost her footing on the wooden stair and slipped, falling heavily onto her behind.

"Ow!…Oh God…." She exclaimed, dropping her phone.

"Louisa! What's the matter….Louisa…?" Martin shouted down the phone. He'd rung up to say that he would come over to the cottage to collect her so that she didn't need to walk back up the hill. He could leave the locum in charge for the last few patients.

Louisa sat on the bottom stair and reached out for her phone – luckily it was still working.

"I'm alright Martin, I just slipped on the stair," Louisa told him a little shakily. The fall had jolted her, much as falling on the hard floor in the pub had when Martin had 'helpfully' pulled a chair out for her.

"Are you sure that you're alright? Look, don't move, I'll be there in just a minute," Martin told her, quickly gathering his things together as he spoke on the phone.

"I'm fine Martin, honestly, it was just a little slip," Louisa told him, only to find that he'd hung up. Presumably he was now already on his way. She slowly heaved herself up, rubbed her bruised bottom, and went to open the front door in preparation for his arrival.

Sure enough a few minutes later she heard Martin's car pull up outside the cottage, and he ran in through the door.

"Before you ask, I'm fine Martin. I landed on my backside which is very well padded in case you hadn't noticed," Louisa told him as she sat at her table. She was feeling a little shaken up though.

"Are you sure, sounded like a nasty fall, let me check you over properly. Come and lie down on the sofa over here," he instructed her. He methodically checked her over, and listened to the baby's heart with the foetal monitor - everything seemed normal. Next he carefully palpated her bump, and as he did so, he realised that it felt different from usual.

"Is that a contraction you're having right now? Any sign of your waters breaking?" he asked her anxiously.

"That's just a Braxton Hicks contraction Martin, just a practice one, and no, my waters haven't gone, and yes I would tell you," Louisa assured him.

"But how can you tell, it could be a real one," Martin persisted.

"I get them all the time, and they don't feel the same as a real contraction, trust me I know," Louisa replied.

"But maybe you should get checked out at the hospital, just in case," Martin worried.

"You've just checked me out, I'm fine, the baby's fine, so I don't need to go to hospital, I just want to collect Luke and go home," Louisa told him firmly.

"Right. Yes, well I suppose that would be the best place for you now, I'll collect Luke while you wait in my car, then you're going home to rest – no argument, doctors orders," Martin said.

**xXx**

Martin was on edge all evening, watching Louisa for signs that the baby was on the way. He'd been convinced that history was repeating itself when he'd heard Louisa falling down the stairs and that the baby was going to be making a fast arrival, so his heart had been in his mouth as he'd run into her cottage. But he had to admit that she seemed fine now, she had agreed to let Martin get on with organising their supper while she rested on the settee in the lounge. It wasn't easy, as he was trying to keep Luke occupied too.

"Don't worry, Luke can stay with me while you get on," Louisa told him as she relaxed with her feet up, as instructed by Martin. Luke went and got some of his favourite books, and climbed up next to her. There wasn't a lot of room for him on her lap now, but she cuddled him up next to her while she read the books with him. He was tired after being at Nursery, so he was happy to sit with her, clutching his favourite teddy that Martin had given him. Louisa had bought several books that had stories about a new baby arriving, and they read these together now. He was too young to really understand what was happening, he was still only a baby himself, but she was trying to prepare him as best she could. Looking down at his little blonde head and his chubby little finger pointing out things in the books as he told her what they were, Louisa felt a strong surge of protective love for him. She looked up as Martin came into the room.

"Do you think we can love another baby as much as much as we love him? Is he going to be really upset by the new baby?" Louisa couldn't help fretting as she tenderly brushed his hair with her fingers.

"Bit too late to worry about all that now," he pointed out. "He'll be fine, he's in a happy secure environment after all."

"Yes, I know you're right. We'll just have to give him extra love, won't we?" Louisa agreed, giving Luke a big hug and kiss, making him giggle.

"I came in to say that supper is ready. Are you sure that you're feeling alright now?" Martin asked her, concerned.

"I'm fine Martin. Probably got a big bruise coming on my bum, that's all. Maybe you could give me one of your soothing back massages a bit later when Luke's in bed?" she suggested.

"I'm sure that could be arranged. Anyhow, come and eat," Martin said, picking Luke up and carrying him into the kitchen.

Louisa smiled as she watched them disappear together in the direction of the kitchen.

**xXx**

It was very early in the morning on the day that the baby was due – it was a Sunday.

Martin was woken by Louisa whispering in his ear.

"It's time Martin," she told him.

"Mmh?" Martin replied sleepily.

Louisa couldn't believe that after all his fussing and worrying she was having trouble waking him up.

"Martin! My contractions have started! Time to get to the hospital," she told him more urgently, shaking his arm.

Suddenly Martin was wide awake.

"What! Are you sure, when did they start, how far apart are they?" Martin quizzed her.

"Yes I'm sure, they started about an hour ago, and they're about ten minutes apart, but not too strong yet," she calmly told him.

"Why didn't you wake me sooner?" he demanded to know, leaping out of bed to get dressed.

"No point in waking you until I was sure. I've rung the maternity unit and they say I should come in now," Louisa replied. He'd been sleeping so soundly for a change that she'd decided to be really sure before she disturbed him.

"Umm, right, you'd best phone Joan to come over then, while I get dressed." Martin tried to quickly focus his brain as he tripped over trying to get dressed in a hurry. He'd run through this scenario so many times in his head but now that it was actually happening it seemed unreal.

At that moment Louisa felt another contraction coming, so she stopped what she was doing to concentrate on her breathing until it passed.

"Think you'd better make that call, Martin," she managed to tell him.

Martin quickly phoned Joan before throwing the rest of his clothes on. Louisa was already dressed ready to go in loose sweat pants and top. By the time that they had put her things and the baby seat in the car, Joan had arrived.

"Good luck, keep in touch, let me know how things go, and don't worry about Luke, he'll be fine," she told them as they got in the car to leave.

Luckily there was no traffic around at all as it was still very early in the morning. Martin kept looking over Louisa – she seemed so calm. Her contractions were coming steadily now, still about every ten minutes but maybe getting stronger. He was checking how close they were, worrying about whether they were going to get to the hospital in time.

"No sign of your waters going?" he enquired.

"No, but I'm sitting on a towel, just in case. Wouldn't want to ruin your beautiful leather seats, would we?" Louisa joked with him, before another contraction hit.

As they pulled into the hospital Martin heaved a huge sigh of relief – they'd made it without any calamity befalling them, so he could relax a little now knowing that help was to hand. Martin offered to get Louisa a wheelchair, but she told him she was OK to walk, so she slowly made her way to reception and booked herself in.

xXx

Martin was amazed at how calm Louisa was, she seemed to be coping so well. Now that they were in hospital, and everything was under control, he managed to unwind a little himself too. His worst nightmare had not come true; they had made it to the hospital safely.

Then Louisa's waters went, and everything speeded up. He held Louisa's hand, and let the midwife carry on down at the business end – he conceded that she was the expert, having only ever delivered one baby himself. He concentrated on supporting Louisa as much as he could because the pain was now very intense for her.

"Use the gas and air Louisa, nice deep breaths with it, won't be too much longer now," the midwife told her as Louisa shouted.

"I am _NOT_ doing this _EVER_ again Martin Ellingham, no more babies after this one, you can go ahead and have the snip."

"Fine with me," Martin agreed as he supported her while she bore down and pushed as hard as she could.

Finally the baby made its arrival into the world, and immediately started crying, much to everyone's relief.

"Is he alright Martin?" Louisa asked anxiously as the midwife quickly cleared the baby's airways.

"No….that is… I mean…it's a _girl!_" Martin told her in a rather surprised voice.

Louisa had been so sure that she was having another boy that she just had to ask him,

"Are you sure Martin? A girl, really?" remembering that he'd been a bit confused when he'd delivered Isabel's baby, first telling her it was a boy, then realising his mistake and hastily telling her that she had a girl.

"See for yourself," the midwife said, as she cut the cord and passed the baby to her.

"A girl, oh Martin, we've got a little girl!" Louisa cried emotionally, once she was sure.

Martin was a bit shocked – what on earth did he know about girls? Although logically he knew that there'd been a 50/50 chance of them having a girl, all he'd had been able to imagine throughout Louisa's pregnancy was having another boy like Luke, another baby the same as him. He'd just about got used to dealing with a baby boy, but a girl…well, he realised that he was just going to have to get used to it, his daughter was here now.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Louisa said, as she gazed at her baby and checked out her tiny fingers and toes.

All Martin could really see at the moment was that the baby had lots of dark hair, and a screwed up little face, but he remembered how upset Louisa had been when he'd dared to voice an observation about the shape of Luke's head when he'd been born.

"Umm…can't really tell yet," was the best that he could manage.

"Do you want to hold her, have a closer look – or would you rather wait until she's been cleaned up?" Louisa asked, wondering if any hint of his blood phobia would return at such a highly emotional time. The baby did have blood over her.

"Errr….I'd like to hold her now," Martin said, much more confident in handling babies now, but still a little scared of how tiny and new she was. The blood phobia was not rearing its ugly head at all, he didn't even think about it.

Martin carefully took the precious bundle from Louisa and looked down at the newborn baby in his arms. His and Louisa's baby. A surge of protective love washed over Martin as he studied her, even though she was still rather blue and very messy.

"Right, we need to get baby cleaned up and checked out, you can have her back in just a minute," the midwife said, taking the baby from him.

"How are you feeling now?" Martin asked Louisa, concerned. He'd felt so helpless watching her, the love of his life, going through such excruciating pain.

"Fine, a bit tired and sore, but so happy," Louisa said, taking his hand to squeeze it.

Martin leant over to tenderly kiss her cheek.

"Thank you. Thank you for going through all this. We men get off pretty lightly really in the procreation business, don't we?" Martin told her guilty.

"It was worth it Martin, worth every minute now that we've got our baby girl. Thank you for giving me a baby, for making her with me," she told him emotionally, kissing him back and hugging him hard.

After a little while, they broke apart, both rather tearful. Martin cleared his throat to cover up his feelings and then watched as the midwife cleaned the baby up, then weighed and measured her. He remembered how Luke had cried all the way through this procedure, but the little girl didn't, she gave the odd cry as she was washed but mostly she just gazed around her.

"She weighs 3.55 kilograms, that's 7lbs 13oz, and she measures 50.8 cm which converts to 20 inches long," the midwife informed them.

"Oh, so she's not as big as Luke was even though she's full term and he was early," Louisa said.

"Well it's a medical fact that boys are usually bigger than girls," Martin informed her, feeling more comfortable reverting to his medical role.

"And she's a Sabbath baby, you remember how the old rhyme goes?" Louisa said.

"What rhyme?" Martin asked, puzzled.

"Surely you remember the old rhyme about what type of child is born on each day? For Sunday it goes '_And the child that is born on the Sabbath day is bonny and blithe and good and gay_". It's the best day to be born on," Louisa explained.

"Oh right, well I'm not so sure about the '_gay'_ bit," Martin said disapprovingly.

"Oh Martin, it just meant happy in the old days, so lets just leave it at that shall we?" Louisa told him, slightly annoyed that he always had to point out these things.

Just then the paediatrician arrived to carry out a full check on the baby, and of course Martin watched avidly to make sure that nothing was missed.

Finally all the checks were done, the baby was given the all clear, and then dressed. The midwife passed her to Martin while she checked Louisa and made her more comfortable.

Martin looked down at his and Louisa's baby. Now that she was all clean and had pinked up, he could see that she was beautiful. He still couldn't quite believe that they had produced a little girl, a daughter. She had a mass of dark spiky hair, long dark lashes, and delicate porcelain skin, just like her mother. Luke had been a definite boy right from the beginning, taking after Martin in his build and with his blonde hair, but this little one took after her mother, she was the image of Louisa, and Martin fell in love with her instantly. She lay quite contentedly in his arms and he found that he couldn't stop looking at her, wondering how he could have fathered such a beautiful little creature.

Louisa looked over at Martin as he gazed in awe at his daughter, and her heart melted to see him so entranced.

"Any suggestions as to what we're going to call her then? We rather concentrated on boys names didn't we? I thought you'd seen that we were having a boy at the scan when you didn't come up with many suggestions for girls names," Louisa told him.

"No, no, I didn't see, I just couldn't imagine ever having a girl I suppose," Martin replied as he now passed the baby to Louisa to hold.

Louisa looked intently at their baby.

"Katie Rose. I think she looks like a Katie Rose, what do you think Martin?"

"Mmm. Yes actually I rather like that, Katherine was on both our lists. As I told you, it was my Grandmother's name, and it's Joan's middle name too. Rose or maybe Roseanne is a good choice for a middle name, but I would also like her to have your name, Louisa too, just as Luke has Martin for his middle name. Maybe Katherine Roseanne Louisa," Martin suggested.

"That's a rather long name for a tiny baby, and don't you think it's a bit fancy having three names?"

"Well Luke has," Martin pointed out

"Only because we weren't married when he was born so he's got Glasson as well," Louisa reminded him. "Well we can sort out the finer details later maybe, when we've both got more used to the idea of having a daughter, but I think we agree on Katie Rose don't we? It's a very pretty name, so I think it will really suit her."

"Yes, I think it will. Look I'd better go and phone Joan and let her know our news, she'll be desperate to know," Martin suddenly thought.

"Yes, of course. Gosh I think she'll be really surprised to have a Granddaughter," Louisa smiled at Martin as he left the room. It had been rather a surprise to both of them to have a daughter after all.

**xXx**

Louisa stuck to her plan to stay in hospital for as brief a time as possible, so she came home on the same day that the baby was born. She'd been born at 9.30 in the morning, so by late afternoon Louisa and the baby were given the all clear to leave, although Martin still felt that she was rushing things.

Louisa heaved a sigh of relief as she walked into their house. She knew that she'd be far more comfortable recovering at home, and that she was very lucky to have the support of both Martin and Joan – but with an active toddler they were going to need all the help they could get, she realised.

Martin insisted that she go straight up to bed when they got home, as he carefully carried the baby up too in the car seat.

Once safely settled, Joan brought Luke in to see them. Joan resisted the urge to make a big fuss about the baby while Luke was there, she could do that later, for now she knew that it was more important to consider Luke's feelings.

"Where's my Luke, come and give Mummy a big hug," Louisa told her son, as Martin helped him to climb up on the bed with her. She'd only been away for the day, so Luke wasn't at all worried as he often spent the day with Joan. After giving him a big hug and kiss, Louisa said to him,

"Look, here's our new baby, isn't she sweet?" as she showed him his sister, now fast asleep.

"Baby, sleeping," he said pointing at her and then turning back to his mummy for another cuddle. It looked just like the dolls they had at nursery, rather boring as far as he was concerned.

Although Louisa felt pretty sore everywhere, she made sure that Luke had a nice long cuddle with her before Martin led him away – it was his tea time, far more important to him than some little doll that Mummy had brought home, so he happily went with his Daddy.

"Just make sure you rest, don't try to do anything, that's what Joan and I are here for. When the baby wakes up, I'll pick her up for you to breastfeed her," Martin instructed her as he left, under instruction to give Luke his undivided attention for now.

Up to now Joan had been very patient, itching to have a good look at the baby, but understanding that Luke would be jealous if they had all ignored him to look at the baby.

"Oh Louisa, she is _gorgeous_, she's like a little doll, a proper girl," Joan said emotionally, studying the baby intently and not being able to resist putting her finger into the baby's hand. Although tiny, she had long, elegant fingers, not like Luke's chubby ones.

"She is, isn't she, but she was a bit of a shock to both of us as we both thought that we were having another boy, and she is nothing like her brother at all," Louisa agreed, also studying the baby.

"And Katie Rose, nice of you to carry on the name Katherine, and I think it suits her," Joan said happily.

"I think so too, we've still got to sort out the final details of her names, but I think that's what we're going with," Louisa replied.

"And how was the birth? Martin seemed to think it had been straightforward when he phoned me, but was it very painful for you?" Joan asked, concerned. Never having given birth herself, she could only imagine what it must be like.

"Well I'm not going to lie, it was bloody painful, but it was over pretty quickly, and looking at the result it was more than worth it. Mind you, I think I did threaten Martin that he was going to have to have the snip before I let him anywhere near me in the future," Louisa told Joan, laughing.

"Perfectly understandable reaction," Joan laughed too, but thought to herself '_They'll certainly need to sort something out considering how easily Louisa seems to get pregnant'_

"Would you like to hold her?" Louisa asked Joan, knowing how desperately she would want to.

"I'd love to, but she's asleep, I wouldn't want to disturb her," Joan replied, trying to be restrained and sensible.

"Oh go on, it's alright to give her a cuddle Joan, after all how often do you get to hold a baby on the day it's been born?" Louisa told her softly.

Joan carefully picked up the precious bundle and held her in her arms. Just as before, when she'd first held Luke, she burst into tears at the sheer pleasure holding a new born baby gave her.

**xXx**

Over the next few days, Luke seemed to take everything in his stride. They made sure to give him plenty of attention, and sat down on the sofa with him and let him hold his new baby sister, but he quickly got bored and wanted to go and play. When she was asleep, they focused on him, and kept him to his normal routine as much as possible. And most people were very kind, when they brought a present for the baby, they gave him a little present too, so he'd been having a lovely time. He didn't like it much when the baby cried, and he wasn't quite sure what was going on when Mummy fed the baby, but new experiences happened every day at his age, so he just accepted these ones, and anyway he was very happy that his Daddy was around much more than usual and spending time with him.

Martin wasn't the only one who felt more confident with a new baby this time round. Louisa worried far less about everything and the baby seemed to respond to this, meaning that most of the time she was pretty contented and settled. Martin usually picked the baby up and brought her to Louisa for each feed as she was breastfeeding, and then took her to change her, wind her and settle her to sleep. Louisa happily let him, knowing that he'd be back at work soon, so it was best to let him carry on all the time he was off, she decided.

**xXx**

Martin kept thinking about something that Louisa had said, and so he couldn't help asking her one day,

"Did you mean what you said, you know when you were giving birth, about me having a vasectomy because you don't want any more babies?"

"Well I think that was just a heat of the moment reaction really, you shouldn't pay too much heed to anything I said then," Louisa told him.

"So are you saying now that you wouldn't want me to have the procedure?" Martin asked, remembering how upset Louisa had been when he'd mentioned it before, and how it had eventually led to them having this baby.

"To be honest, I don't really know how I feel at the moment Martin. But realistically I know that we've been incredibly lucky to have produced two beautiful healthy babies at our ages. I used to think that I wanted lots of kids, but now I think that I'm probably more than happy with the two that we have, and I don't think _you_really want any more, unless you've had a major change of heart. So it's something we can think about in the future, you having the snip, but there's no rush, is there?" Louisa replied, looking at him sharply.

"No, no, no, of course not, I didn't mean…..I'm not suggesting…I'm not rushing you….." Martin was horrified that it sounded as if he was in a hurry to resume their sex life.

"Good, right, well we'll consider all the options sensibly and logically when the time is right," Louisa told him, satisfied with his response.

**xXx**

Martin insisted that the nursery be redecorated immediately. The blue décor in there was not all suitable for a girl as far as he was concerned.

"Katie should have a proper girl's room, just as Luke has a proper boy's room," he decreed. He was horrified when Louisa wanted to use some of the pink baby clothes passed on from Isabel that she had never got round to giving to the charity shop.

"I don't want my daughter in hand me downs, we can afford new things for her so why should she have horrid old things?" he argued, encouraging Louisa to place an order for some things on the internet. Of course they had also had many presents for their new baby too, everyone loved buying pretty pink frilly clothes, and the house was filled with all the pink congratulations cards.

One evening after Luke had gone to bed, Martin was sitting cradling his daughter, just gazing at her adoringly.

"He's besotted, isn't he?" Joan said to Louisa quietly, as they watched him unnoticed from the doorway.

"He certainly is," Louisa replied happily.

"She's going to be able to wind him round her little finger, isn't she?" Joan observed.

"Oh yes. No question there." Louisa agreed again.

"And heaven help any boy who takes an interest in her when she's older, no one will ever be good enough for her as far as he's concerned," Joan said with a big smile on her face.

"No, he's going to be ridiculously protective of her, isn't he?" Louisa smiled back. It was wonderful to see him being so tender with his tiny baby daughter, and he'd been pretty fantastic with Luke as well, they had a very special bond between them. Who could have imagined that the cold, repressed and seemingly unemotional man that she _hadn't_ married could have turned into the wonderful husband and father that he was now.

**THE END**

_Thanks to all those who have taken the time to read and review all 34 chapters of 'New Beginnings'. Your perseverance has been appreciated. Much love to you all xxx_


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